Brother Bear: Little Sister
by books4life99
Summary: Hi, everyone! My name is Tehya! I am the youngest in my family with three very overprotective brothers named Kenai, Sitka, and Denahi. This is our story... well, mainly Kenai's, but we play a big part in it as well.
1. Stampede

Disclaimer: I do not own Brother Bear! Nor do I own the cover picture. The only character I own is Teyha.

_This story is also on Wattpad and Quotev under booklover4life99._

I followed my brother, Kenai, towards a herd a of caribou and watched as he knelt down by a caribou. Unsure of what he was doing, I questioned, "What are you up to, Kenai?" Kenai shushed me, grabbed the bucket, and it looked like he was attempting to milk one of them. The caribou lifted up it's head in surprise and would've kicked Kenai in the face, but he was able to dodge out of the way. This caught the attention of the rest of the herd and they proceeded move.

Kenai ran over to me and yelled, "Run!" I began running down the hill and Kenai soon caught up to me with a herd of Caribou behind us. We saw Sitka and Denahi by the canoes not to far away. I shouted, "Get down! Get down! Get down!" Sitka and Denahi were confused at first, but they soon saw why.

"Kenai! Tehya!" Denahi shouted. They took cover behind the canoes and we joined them. Sitka did his best to shield me while Kenai howled with excitement and one of the hoofs of the caribou knocked Denahi on the head. The stampede soon passed us and Kenai said, "Never try to milk a caribou." Denahi tackled Kenai and pinned him to the ground. He drool slip out of his mouth and Kenai begged him to stop. Sitka rolled his eyes and grabbed both of our brothers.

"Will you two knock it off? Kenai, you need to be more careful. You could've gotten Tehya hurt and this is her first time out hunting with us." Sitka scolded.

"This wouldn't be my first time if you guys would stop being so overprotective. I mean, come on. I'm twelve years old!" I retorted. Sitka glared at me and gave me the 'not helping' face. He tends to give me that face quite often. I give him such a hard time. Don't get me wrong. I do love my brothers. Ever since our parents died, they've always watched out for me. Especially, Sitka. They're my guardians and I wouldn't trade them for anything else in the world. I just wish that they would let me have a bit more freedom. It took me so long to convince Sitka to let me come along with them on a hunting trip and I was thrilled that I am finally here alongside them.

"It's alright, Sitka. After today, he won't be treating me like that anymore." Kenai stated.

"Oh right! The big manhood ceremony! It doesn't matter what the spirits say. You'll always be our baby brother!" Denahi teased.

"Oh yeah! Well, wait until I get my totem." Kenai protested. Denahi continued to say baby brother and they would've started fighting again, but Sitka knocked their heads together and said, "Hey! I said, knock it off! Now, the quicker we get these fish, the faster we're going to get to your ceremony. So, let's all just try and get along for a few hours. Okay, Denahi." Denahi agreed and I noticed Kenai slip from Sitka's grasped. I laughed and followed Kenai to the canoe. We both got in while Sitka said, "Ok, Ke-" He paused and noticed that Kenai wasn't there. Kenai yelled,

"Well, what are we waiting for?"

"Come on, slow pokes!" I shouted. Sitka and Denahi laughed and we all shouted in glee. We went down the river until we reached the falls. We went to the shore, climbed down the falls partially, and Denahi and Sitka jumped to a large rock. I grasped onto Kenai in fear of slipping.

"It'll be alright, Tehya. If you want me to, I'll jump with you." Kenai said.

"What if I fall?" I questioned.

"We won't let you fall. I promise. You ready?" Kenai questioned. I nodded and got ready to jump. We ran across the the rock and jumped to the other side. We both would've slipped, but Sitka grabbed Kenai and Denahi grabbed me. Denahi laughed and rubbed my head. I laughed along with him and we continued down the falls. While we were heading down the falls, Kenai nudged my shoulder and said, "See! I told you that we wouldn't let you fall." I laughed and shoved Kenai, which caught him by surprise. I started running down the hill the canoe in hand.

Kenai laughed and chased after me. Once he reached me, he tackled me down and we both laughed. We set the canoes by the shore. While Denahi and Sitka were fishing, Kenai and I snuck off and found a herd of mammoths. He was able to get on top of one and he helped me up. We rode the mammoth towards Sitka and Denahi. We went past them and waved, but Kenai was knocked off the mammoth by a tree branch and he fell to the ground. Sometimes it pays to be short.

Once we were done fishing, we started heading back to the village and while we were canoeing back, orcas were surfacing and I couldn't help but admire them. They were so majestic. Kenai splashed Denahi and he pretended to act innocent, but an orca came up and flipped his canoe. Denahi, Sitka, and I laughed. We helped set his canoe upright and continued on our way.

Finally, we reached the village and unloaded our supplies. I was so excited to see what totem Kenai would get. This was truly going to be a day we would never forget. I just know it.


	2. Thieves

While we were unloading our supplies, Kenai was greeted by several children. They asked him several questions about if he was excited about getting his spirit rock. To this Kenai responded, "It's not a rock. It'll be my totem. Yeah, I'll probably get like a saber tooth tiger for bravery, or strength, or greatness. You know, something that fits me."

"How about a mammoth for your fat head? Just make sure you get that basket tied up." Denahi reminded him.

"Don't worry. No stupid bear is going to get anywhere near this fish." Kenai said.

"Just tie it up." Denahi retorted. I laughed as Kenai mocked him. Then, we heard that Tanana, our shaman woman, was back and I ran along with Sitka and Denahi. We reached the ceremony and parted ways as Tanana walked through and started the bonfire. That's when I heard giggling and smiled as a little girl came from behind Tanana. Tanana laughed and picked the little girl just like she used to do with me when I was little and said,

"Well, hello there, sweat heart. What a big girl! When each of us comes of age, the great spirits reveal to us a totem that helps guide us through our lives. Some of us use courage to guide us, others patience, and some of us beauty. Kenai, you nervous?" Kenai told her that he was excited and she said, "Oh. You should be. It's a good one. Kenai, I have been to the mountain where the lights touch the earth and the great spirits have revealed to me your totem. To become a man, your actions must be guided by one thing... your totem is... Love!"

"What?" Kenai questioned.

Tanana continued, "Yes, love." Sitka, Denahi, and I giggled as Tanana continued. This was so not what Kenai was expecting. The bear of love? I wondered what that will mean for Kenai. I can't wait till the day that I come of age and get my totem. I'll probably be just as confused as Kenai. Kenai leaned back and asked if anyone wanted to trade, but Tanana smacked him and said, "There is no trading. Kenai, love is the most precious of totems. It reveals itself in unexpected ways. Let love guide your actions. Then, one day, you'll be a man and will place your mark next to those of our ancestors." She gestured towards the wall of hand prints and I couldn't help, but admire it. Tanana lifted Kenai's hand in the air and we all cheered for him.

After the ceremony was done, I walked with Sitka and down the hill and saw Denahi teasing Kenai. Of course he would tease him. I'd imagine that he is going to get an endless amount of teasing from Denahi because of his totem.

"Well, isn't this nice. Instead of fighting, you're giving each other flowers." Sitka said.

"Yeah. Isn't it lovely? He's so in touch with his totem already." Denahi teased. Kenai punched him and Sitka said, "Hey, dog breath. You and Teyha go take care of the fish."

"Sure. Kenai, loves me. He loves me not. Kenai loves me, he loves me not. Kenai loves me, he loves me not." I followed him as he continued saying those lines until he accidentally stepped on a dog's tail. I laughed, then rolled my eyes as some girls flirted with him. Denahi grew nervous and began backing up towards the dog. I would've warned him, but this was too good. The dog bit him and he cried out in pain. Sometimes I wonder how he ever received the Wolf of Wisdom.

When we reached the basket, well, where the basket should've been, there were paw prints and fish everywhere. I heard Kenai yell, "They're thieves!" We turned towards him and Denahi said, "You didn't tie it up, did you? You should've gotten the totem of pin heads!" Kenai would've punched him, but Sitka said,

"Knock it off. We'll just make another basket."

"We? Oh no! It took Tehya and I two weeks to make that basket!" Denahi protested, "You get lover boy to do it. He's the one messing things up all the time typical Kenai!" Kenai shoved Denahi and said, "Alright! I'll go get your guys' basket."

"Kenai, wait. Kenai!" Sitka called after him. He glared at Denahi and I went to go catch up with him. I called out, "Kenai, wait!" He turned back and asked,"What do you want? Here to scold and make fun of me too?" I shook my head and said,

"No, I'm coming with you. We're siblings and we'll stick together."


	3. Mourning

Kenai and I went up and found the basket... in ruins. Kenai grew frustrated and kicked some of the remains of the basket. Denahi was so not going to be happy about this. I went over to him and put my hand on his shoulder and said, "It's okay, Kenai. I can deal with Denahi. It'll be just fine." Kenai nodded, but was still infuriated. We turned to leave, but we heard a grunt. The grunt of a bear. I froze. Terrified of what was behind us. Of course, Kenai being Kenai threw a rock at the bear and it hit it.

"Kenai, no please. Let's get out here." I whispered, clutching on to him, terrified. It was too late though. The bear was charging and I screamed. Kenai grabbed my arm and pushed me ahead of him yelling, "Run, Tehya!" I started running ahead of Kenai, then stopped when I heard him scream. I turned behind me and saw the bear push Kenai off the cliff.

"KENAI! NO!" I shouted, then screamed and started running again when the bear turned towards me. I slipped and fell down near a tree. I looked behind me as the charging bear was closing in. It was too late. I knew that I wasn't going to outrun the bear. I crawled towards the tree and clutched onto it for dear life. I closed my eyes and waited for the impact, but it never came.

"Get away from her!" I heard a familiar voice shout. I opened my eyes and saw Denahi fending off the bear. Sitka ran to my side and I embraced him crying, then stopped and said, "Sitka, Kenai. The bear pushed him off the cliff." I pointed to the direction where he fell. Sitka ran towards the edge and shouted, "Kenai!" He reached down. Kenai's alive then. A wave of relief washed over me. Then, I noticed the bear knock Denahi towards the side and go for Sitka and Kenai.

"Sitka, Kenai! Look out! The bear!" I yelled. The bear stood on it's hind legs ready to strike Sitka down. I ran as hard as I could towards them and slammed into the bear. I heard Sitka shout my name and saw out of the corner of my eye that Kenai and him were safe. I began running as the bear now had it's attention on me again, but I saw Denahi throwing rocks at it, which diverted it's attention towards him. Denahi backed up and lead the bear towards the glacier. Sitka, Kenai, and I ran towards Denahi. The bear smacked Denahi, which sent him flying. When he landed, he broke through the ice.

Kenai and I shouted Denahi's name and ran towards him. Kenai was able to grab him just in time. We struggled to get him up and I noticed out of the corner of my that the bear had knocked Sitka down and was coming for us. I grabbed a rock ready to fend the bear off, but... something else happened. Something I'll never forget. A loud crack came and I saw Sitka with his spear in the glacier. Exhaustion was written across his face and he stared into my eyes and saw determination and sorrow.

"Sitka..." I whispered with tears welling up in my eyes. He closed his eyes and much of the glacier broke beneath him all the way towards the bear into the waters below. I screamed his name and towards the edge of the cliff. We looked at the waters below and saw the bear protrude out of the water, but there was no Sitka. We ran towards the lake below and started searching for him.

"Kenai! Tehya!" Denahi shouted and pointed towards Sitka's headdress. Kenai picked it up, then threw it to the side and continued to shout his name. After he threw it to the side, I picked it up and Denahi came up beside me.

"No, no, no. Sitka can't be gone. He can't be. He can't be. No, no, no, no." I began sobbing uncontrollably and Denahi embraced me. I listened as Kenai told us to help him continue to find Sitka. Sitka was my role model. I used to think that nothing would be able to kill him. He couldn't be gone. He had so much to live for. So much life left to live. He was taken too soon. Too soon. We still needed him. I still needed him.


	4. Purpose

Kenai, Denahi, and I went back to the village with Sitka's headcovering, broken spear, and his totem. This was all we had left of him. Villagers rushed up to us because they could hear the glacier's collapse all the to the village. They wondered where Sitka was and that's when we delivered the news. Sitka's death hit the village hard and I felt so lifeless. When Sitka died, a piece of me had been taken. I knew that Kenai and Denahi were trying their best to act strong for me and I wanted to be strong for them.

With the village, we went up to the place where our ceremonial villages took place. The people parted for the three of us. Kenai carried Sitka's headcovering, Denahi carried his broken spear, and I carried his totem. We went up towards Tanana and she took these possessions of Sitka and rapped them up. She set them down and we lit them on fire, so that Sitka's spirit may go to the great spirits. As I watched the flames go up, I whispered, "Goodbye, Sitka." I began to tear up and Denahi embraced me. I noticed out of the corner of my eye that Kenai had left.

After a while, Kenai came back with two spears. He threw one towards Denahi and asked, "You ready?"

"For what?" Denahi questioned.

"We're going after the bear." Kenai stated. My eyes widened. That's what he wanted to do? After everything that we've already been through, he wants to kill the bear? I didn't want to lose another brother.

"I know what your feeling, but... but killing that bear is wrong." Denahi stated and he threw down the spear. I could sense an oncoming argument and this was the last thing that we needed right now. Kenai grew frustrated and said, "Wrong? Our brother is dead and it's because of that monster."

"I don't blame the bear, Kenai." Denahi said.

"I see." Kenai said.

"Killing that bear won't make you a man." Denahi tried to reason.

"Oh, so now you're trying to be wise!" Kenai yelled.

"I'm trying to follow my totem. Why can't you do the same?" Denahi questioned.

"You really think that love has anything to do with being a man? A man wouldn't just sit hear and do nothing." Kenai stated. Denahi tried to tell him not to upset the spirits, but Kenai scoffed and said, "The spirits. Thanks for your wisdom." I grabbed onto Kenai and tried to dissuade him from going, but he ripped his arm away from me and I watched heartbroken as he rip his totem off and walk away from the village. Denahi looked down and stated, "I've got to stop him."

"I'm coming..." But, Denahi turned to me and said, "You're not coming. I don't know how this is going to turn out, but I'd be better of knowing that you're safe in the village."

"I thought that we would always stick together." I wondered looking up into Denahi's eyes.

"Tehya, please. I don't have time for arguing. I'm begging you. Please go back to the camp. We will be back soon." Denahi said. He took off before I could say anything else. Anger grew within me and I stormed back to the camp ignoring everyone who came to talk to me including my best friend, Ahanu. I ran into the forest to the make-shift fort I had built a couple years ago. It was hidden behind clusters of weeds and bushes. It was secure and you had to know where to look in order to find it. I built it a couple years ago because there were times when my brothers would get on my nerves and I needed some time alone. However, the original fort I made wasn't very concealed and it always fell apart. Sitka easily found it. He helped me find a better location and together we managed to securely build the fort.

Once I got there, I collapsed to the ground and started sobbing. I used to think that it would always be the four of us. I used to picture it too. All of us growing old together and just being a happy, but I didn't know anymore. I no longer knew my place in this world. What was my purpose?

"Sitka, I'm so confused. I wish you were here to help me." I whispered. Suddenly, I saw a glow and felt a hand lift up my chin. When I looked up, I gasped. It was Sitka.

"Sitka?" I questioned.

"Tehya, we don't have much time. So listen carefully. Kenai needs your help. I've transformed him into a bear. I cannot tell you why because he needs to figure that out on his own and I know that this journey will help give you the answers you seek. Don't worry about finding where Kenai is. Your paths will cross. Are you ready?" Sitka asked.

"If I'm going to be turned into an animal, could you at least tell me which one?" I questioned kind of figuring out what he planning on doing.

"I'm sorry. I don't have much time to explain. You're just going to have to trust me. When we meet again, you'll understand." Sitka said. I sighed in defeat and stated, "I'm ready." Sitka reached his hand into the air and light filled the room. These were the lights that could usually be seen touching the mountain where Tanana goes. I felt myself lifted into the air and could sense something inside me. A tingling feeling. I knew that I was no longer the same Tehya. When I started being lifted back to the ground, a wave of exhaustion came over me. When my feet touched the ground, darkness overtook me.


	5. Searching

When I woke up the next day, I saw that I was in my fort. What was I doing here? Then, everything came rushing back to me. I had to help Kenai. He needed me. I was about to set off, but then I remembered another very important detail. I was transformed into an animal. I hesitated for a moment. I was afraid to see what animal I was. Come on, Tehya. Be brave. Sitka and Kenai are counting on you. I slowly looked down and gasped. I had paws. PAWS! Bear paws. I had to keep myself from panicking.

In the distance, I could here people calling my name. The village had sent a search party for me. I couldn't let see me like this. I ran as far away from them as I could and I soon found the stream. How am I going to find Kenai. He could be anywhere. When I walked up the the stream, I saw two squirrels and they were bickering to each other. I had to hold back my scream as I recalled that I was an animal and that was why I could hear them.

"This day has been the worst! First you lied to me about those acorns in your mouth, than that stupid bear showed up and nearly killed us!" The squirrel shouted. A bear? I walked over towards them. My footsteps were silent and when I reached them, I asked, "Don't freak out. I'm not here to hurt you, but could you tell me where the bear went?" The squirrels looked at me in horror.

"A bear?! How could this day get any worse? Run, Chip! Run!" The squirrel yelled. They were about to bolt away, but I was aware of my surroundings. I jumped in front of them and back them against a large boulder. I knew that they would probably just crawl right up the boulder, but I really needed them to tell me where this bear is. It could be Kenai. At least, I hoped that it would be Kenai.

"Please. Just tell me where the bear is. That's all I want to know." I begged.

"Wait a moment. You're just a bear cub. Please don't call for your mama." Chip pleaded. I paused for a moment because that struck a nerve. My mother. It was so long ago that I barely remember what they look like. I closed my eyes trying to keep it together and took a deep breath.

"My parents are dead and I got separated from my older brother. That was probably who you came across. Please. Tell me where the other bear is." I begged.

"That way. If you run, you might be able to catch him. Good luck." Dale said and he and Chip took off. I turned around dashed in the direction Chip and Dale told me where the bear is and, soon enough, I found a bear caught in one of the traps Denahi and I had set up three weeks ago. The bear noticed me and screamed, "Ah! Please don't hurt me!" That voice sounded familiar.

"Kenai? Is it really you?" I questioned. Kenai looked at me as if he was trying to recognize me and quickly added, "It's your favorite sister in the world." Kenai's eyes widened in realization and stated, "First of all, you're my only sister and second of all, why are you here?"

"Wow. If I'm going to be treated like that, then I'm just going to go back home and ask Sitka to change me back." I retorted.

"No, please don''t go. I need someone with some actual sense right now. Seriously, though, how are you here? And you're a bear!" Kenai questioned.

"Sitka sent me to help you and before you ask, no, I don't know actually know what I'm supposed to be helping you with. He said that this journey we'll be taking will be beneficial for the both of us. I was hoping that you would somehow know. Also, how did you end up here?" I wondered.

"Well, when I left you and Denahi, I went after the bear on my own. I was able to track it down. I actually managed to kill the bear that killed our brother. Then, the spirits appeared and I saw Sitka. I was lifted into the sky and when I came back down, I saw Denahi, then I toppled and fell into the river below. That's how I ended up here. When I woke up, Tanana was beside me and told me that I was transformed into a bear by Sitka and in order to transform back, I would have to go to where the lights touch the earth." Kenai explained.

"You were actually able to kill the bear?" I exclaimed.

"Yes, now Tanana says I have to right this wrong that I did. I don't know what I did wrong." Kenai said.

"We'll figure that out later, but, right now, we have to get you out of that tree." I said. I was about to go over and remove the stake planted into the ground, but Kenai said, "No, no. I got myself into this mess. I can get myself out." I rolled my eyes. Why does he have to be so stubborn at times. I sat a few feet away and watched with a bored expression as Kenai attempted to go for the stick in front of him, which was next to me. I suddenly got the feeling that we were being watched.

Suddenly, I jumped when I heard a voice ask from the bushes behind me, "Psst. Is the coast clear?"

"What?" Kenai questioned.

"Are there any hunters around?" The voice asked.

"Uh no." I answered.

"Oh good!" Suddenly a bear cub popped out of the bushes scaring Kenai and I nearly half to death, "How you doing? Guess you didn't see the trap, huh. I saw it from a mile away. You must be pretty embarrassed, but don't worry. I won't tell anyone" Kenai and I were confused but the bear cub kept talking, "You need to get down. I'm not sure why your friend isn't helping, but I'll help you down." The bear cub proceeded to wack Kenai and I just watched with amusement.

"Stop it!" Kenai shouted.

"It's no good. The only way to get down is to chew your own foot off." The bear cub said.

"Or-" But, Kenai interrupted me, "I don't need some stupid bear's help. I just need the stick." The bear cub was going to give it to him, but Kenai said, "No, no. I can do it myself. Put it back. Where you found it! To the left by the little rock."

"Here?" The cub questioned.

"Yes." Kenai said.

"Now you see why I was not helping him." I said.

"No kidding. That tree is strong. When I was little, I was climbing all kinds of trees. Pine trees, oak trees, cedar trees, birch trees-" The cub rambled on and on and I could tell that this was going to take a while.


	6. Hunted

Would the bear cub ever shut up? The first few stories were sort of interesting, but after his fifth story, I just wanted peace and quiet. My brother was still struggling to get the stick. I probably should've helped him by now, but I'm enjoying watching him struggle with the bear trap Denahi and set up.

"My eyes were watering and my tongue was swollen and from that moment on, I was more careful about what I licked." The bear cub finished. He saw that Kenai was still struggling and with a slight roll of his eyes, he moved the stick a couple inches when Kenai wasn't looking and Kenai grabbed it shouting, "Ha! See! It's all about using your head." Yeah. If he would've used his head, we would've been out of this situation a long time ago. He hoisted himself up with the stick and hooked the stick to the tree, so he could keep himself balanced while he worked on the rope, but the rope snapped and he banged his head on the ground again. He so deserved that.

"Oh. That was funny. Do it again." The cub encouraged.

"Don't you have somewhere to go?" Kenai growled.

"Yeah. The salmon run. Hmm. How about this? I get you down and all three of us go together. Deal?" The cub asked searching around for a way to release Kenai. Out of Kenai's eyesight, I pointed to where the stake was and the cub smirked at me.

"Okay. Fine. If you can magically get me down, I'll go with you to this-this" The cub told Kenai the salmon run and Kenai continued, "Whatever. But, if you can't, you turn around, and walk away, and never ever come back Ever."

"You swear?" The cub asked seriously and Kenai swore, and the cub stated, "Pinky swear?"

"Yeah sure. Pinky swear, but this is a human trap and you're just a dumb little bear. There's no way you're going to be able to-" Suddenly, Kenai was set free and crashed head first into the ground for the third time today, due to the cub removing the stake from the ground I pointed out to him earlier. I walked up Kenai and said, "You know, Kenai. You're taking this using your head thing a little to seriously." Kenai rolled his eyes at me and the cub started rambling about how we were going to travel and when his bedtime is. Then, the cub shouted,

"Run!" He disappeared into the woods. I grew nervous and started looking around for any signs of danger.

"Good riddance!" Kenai shouted. Then, I caught scent of something. Something strange. Kenai must've smelt it too. We looked around and spotted a figure coming towards us. It was Denahi. Happiness swelled inside me.

"Denahi? Denahi, you found us!" I shouted, then I got slightly suspicious. He didn't look very happy and he... he looked like he was going to hurt us!

"It's been a nightmare. You won't believe-" Kenai faltered as he began to sense the same thing I was.

"Run, Kenai!" I exclaimed. Denahi almost thrust the spear into Kenai, but Kenai barely dodged it. Kenai rushed past me and I was struggling to keep up. I was only a cub. I wasn't going to catch up with him. Denahi was still on my trail. "Kenai!" I screamed for help. Denahi threw the spear at me and barely dodged it. Suddenly, Kenai threw his full weight into Denahi, which caught Denahi off guard, and shouted, "Keep going, Tehya! I'll catch up with you in a minute." I ran into the woods and a moment later I tumbled into a stream and Kenai jumped in after me.

"Keep going! He's not far behind." Kenai urged. He looked around and said, "Go to that glacier. It has a small opening." Kenai and I ran into the glacier cave. We panted, then stopped and backed up when we saw Denahi on top of the glacier.

"Is he gone? I think he was going to-" The cub from earlier asked. Kenai grabbed him and I shushed him. We both looked up and held our breaths as we watched Denahi. We released them as soon as he left.

"Hello? Can't breathe." The cub reminded Kenai. Kenai released him and the cub and I followed him as he walked a little bit. I was trying to wrap my mind around this. Why was Denahi chasing us?

"Why is he chasing us?" Kenai wondered. I could tell that he was just as confused as I was.

"That's what they do." The cub said.

"But it's not like him." Kenai said. He was right. Denahi had to have a reason for hunting us. Maybe he changed his mind about hunting the bear that killed Sitka, but he seemed pretty adamant about not wanting to kill it earlier. It had to be something else, but what?

"Well, lucky for him. He didn't find us. When I get into a fight, I'm a razing ball of brown fur." The cub stated running around in a circle and falling down, "I mean, I don't want to brag or nothing, but I've got some moves." I chuckled.

"Oh really?" Kenai questioned not believing it one bit.

"Yep. This first one, well, it's just a little thing I like to call the slasher! And this one I like to call, flying fury of death!" The cub shouted demonstrating his moves. I slightly chuckled and I could tell that Kenai was mildly amused as well. Then, he said with a terrified face, "He's coming back!" The cub hid behind Kenai and I slightly jumped, but glared at Kenai when I realized he was just pulling a prank. He scoffed, "Typical."

"Yeah, well. The next time we run into that hunter-" The cub started, but Kenai interrupted, "There is no we. K. Tehya and I aren't taking you to any salmon run."

"What? But you pinky swore!" The cub reminded him. I hated to say it, but Kenai was right. We couldn't waste our time with this cub. We needed to go where the lights touch the mountain and we already wasted enough time. Kenai was frustrated and retorted, "Yeah. Well, things change. See ya, kid. Come on, Tehya." We started to walk away, but the cub stopped us by saying,

"Wait, uh. The truth is, I got separated from my mom and now with this hunter around-"

"Kid, I've got my own problems." Kenai said.

"Wait." I said and brought him a little ways from the cub so he couldn't overhear, "Kenai, I understand why you're frustrated-"

"Tehya, you can't be serious. We don't have time to be babysitters." Kenai stated.

"Kenai, what if it was me. What if I got separated from you guys when there was dangerous predator on the loose." I persuaded him using my wonderful little sister card on him. Kenai groaned, but didn't argue anymore and I knew that I had won the battle. Works on him every time.

Before we had a chance to tell the kid, the cub made another proposition, not realizing that we had already agreed upon taking him, "Come on, please? Can't we just go together? There's a lot of bears and a ton of fish, and every night, we watch the lights touch the mountain. Last year, Bucky and I found a-"

"Wait, wait. What did you just say?" I asked.

"There's lots of bears and tons of fish!" The cub explained enthusiastically.

"No, you know where the lights touch the earth?" Kenai questioned.

"Yeah. It's at the top of the mountain by the salmon run." The cub informed us.

"You're kidding me." Kenai said.

"No, no. They're practically next door. Come on. I'll show you two. It'll be great." The cub assured us. Kenai still looked hesitant and I glared at him while the cub said, "I promise to help you escape from every trap that you walk into." I snorted when I heard that. I'm never going to let Kenai live that one down. He'll be even more embarrassed when he learns that Denahi and I set it up. Then, I noticed that the rope around Kenai's leg was wrapped around a small block of ice and I grinned.

"I'm not going to walk into going anymore-" Suddenly, Kenai fell and I laughed as he finished, "Traps."

The cub went up and freed him, asking, "What do you say?"

"You're sure that you can take us where the lights touch the earth? Because the last time, I trusted a kid to lead me somewhere, we ended up getting lost for five hours. " Kenai said.

"That was one time!" I protested. One time, I told Kenai about this cool waterfall that, if you went behind the fall, there was a small cavern, and we went to find it again, and with my brilliant direction skills, we managed to get lost for five hours.

"Yeah, no problem." The cub promised.

"If you slow us down-" Kenai threatened and the cub assured him that he won't and Kenai continued, "Alright. We leave first thing tomorrow." Kenai and I found a place to rest and I saw the cub curl up next to Kenai. I smiled when I saw that. I used curl up to Sitka and fall asleep next to him all time. Sitka. I had to keep myself from crying. I missed him so much. Kenai noticed the cub curled up next to him and he pushed the cub away.

"And keep that cuddly bear stuff to a minimum. Okay, kid?" Kenai stated.

"My name's not kid. It's Koda. What's your guys' names?" Koda wondered. Kenai groaned and ignored him. I whispered to Koda, "My name is Tehya and that's my older brother, Kenai. Nice to meet you, Koda." Then, I closed my eyes and fell asleep.


	7. Sisterhood

The next day, Kenai, Koda, and I woke up early and began to travel. Koda was slightly tired, so he wasn't as chatty when he first woke up, but later in the morning. He perked up and started blabbering about his friend and Bucky. He was kind of annoying at first, but he eventually grew on me and we both started sharing stories, except that we would leave out the human part. Kenai was kind of ahead of us and I could tell that he was annoyed by all our chatting.

"Okay. There was this one time that my best friend, Ahanu, and I decided to race each other back home. The problem was, we knew the way back, but we had miscalculated the distance. We probably ran a good six miles before either of us got back home. Ahanu was faster than the two of us, but I knew a short cut. So I managed to beat him. He got so mad and claimed that I was cheating, but I told him that the only rule we had was to be the first one to get there." I said.

Koda laughed and said, "Okay. Okay. I've got one. There was this one time Bucky and I were hanging out and we stumbled across this giant pine nut. It had to be the biggest one in the world. Even bigger than your head. We showed our moms and even they were impressed!" I laughed and glanced at Kenai. I know that Kenai was annoyed with all of this. Koda saw that I was looking at him and asked,

"What's the deal with your brother? Why doesn't he want to have any fun?"

"Koda, there's so much you have yet to learn. Kenai and I have been through a lot in the past couple days that you couldn't even begin to imagine. We're both dealing with a great loss and with that loss came transformations that we're still trying to understand." I said.

"Who did you lose?" Koda wondered. I didn't answer and I just walked on in silence and for once, Koda was silent...

After a while, we came across a chunk of ice that was the size of a boulder. I noticed Koda walk over to it and he laughed, "Tehya, Kenai, come over here." I strode over to him curious as to what Koda wanted to show us. When I reached him, He pointed at the ice and I was able to see my reflection. Except, my reflection was totally distorted. I laughed remembering how Kenai and I used to do this when we were little. I observed my reflection a little closer taking a good look at what I'm like as bear. Technically cub. My fur coloring was almost the same as Kenai's. Thick and shaggy light brown fur and darker brown fur on the limbs under the elbows and knees, except I had a dark brown muzzle while Kenai's was lighter. I was bigger than Koda, but smaller than Kenai.

This was so strange. In my human form, I was fairly tall for a twelve year old. Tall, slender, with long black hair that was braided and tucked into my clothes. I also had loose bangs that Denahi would always ruffle, so I they would always be in my dark brown eyes. This was the first time that I truly saw my bear form. This was real. Denahi is truly hunting us. Denahi. When I thought of Denahi, sorrow struck my heart. He was facing all of this alone. I felt horrible. Siblings are supposed to always stick together. I should be there for him. Not here messing around with this broken piece of a glacier. Then, I looked towards Kenai. He needs me right now too. Both of them do.

"Teyha?" Kenai asked walking up to me, "Are you alright?"

I shook the thoughts out of my head. I need to be focused right now. Kenai and Denahi are all I have left now. Since I can't be there for Denahi, I will be here for Kenai. I can't have my head in two places... in two worlds... at once.

I glanced at Kenai and gave him a slight smile, "I'll be fine." That was the best answer I could give him. Kenai still looked worried and he was about to ask something else, but we were interrupted by Koda who was laughing and still messing around the little ice that made him appear skinny and big. I chuckled and Kenai said, "Hey, we've got a mountain to get to. Come on." Koda was not amused.

"I told you. My name's not kid. It's Koda. Say it with me- Ko-da." Koda pronounced.

"Are you sure your mom just didn't ditch you, Ko-duh!" Kenai retorted. Koda glared at him.

"Come on, Koda, _Kenai_." I said, putting emphasis on Kenai's name to try to signal to him to knock off. Kenai just grumbled and we let Koda continue to lead the way.


	8. Friendship

After a while of traveling, we came across a beautiful meadow and I couldn't help but take it all in. Glancing over at Kenai, I saw that he was still upset. I was growing worried for him. I missed hearing his laughter and care-free nature. I walked up to him why Koda was messing around with the flowers. He turned to me and asked, "What is it, Tehya?"

Instead of releasing the little speech I had planned out in my head, I said, "Nothing. I'm just letting you know that I'm always here for you, Kenai." Kenai smiled. The first real smile that I had seen since our older brother's death and I couldn't help, but smile as well. He's still there.

"You do know that I'm supposed to be the older one here, right?" Kenai teased.

"Well, yeah, but everyone needs someone to lean on regardless of age." I stated. Kenai grabbed me and ruffled my hair. He's playing a dangerous game. He knows how much I hate that. I managed to get out of his grasp and I knocked him to the ground and I laughed, "What are you going to do now, Kenai?"

"This!" Kenai exclaimed and he pulled himself up, which resulted in me getting thrown off. We both laughed and playfully nudged each other. Then, Kenai said, "Race you to the rock over there?" I looked over at the boulder, which was about a hundred feet ahead of us. I grinned looking back at him stating, "You're on." We were about to start racing, but Koda ran up to us. We had almost forgotten about him.

"What are you guys doing?" Koda wondered. Kenai rolled his eyes and I watched in despair as his smiled disappeared. I looked down at the ground. I felt like yelling at Koda, but I knew that it wasn't his fault for all of this. Kenai said, "Nothing. Let's keep moving." He walked on ahead of us and I had to keep myself from crying, but a single tear rolled down my cheek.

"Are you okay, Tehya?" Koda questioned. I was honestly getting tired of that question. What do I tell him? That Kenai and I's brother died not even two days ago, that we were transformed into bears and have to go on this strange quest with our other brother hunting us? Also, on top of all that, we are stuck babysitting in the midst of our grief. All I want is for life to go back to normal, but the scary part is, I'm realizing, is that our lives will never be the same. Angry hot tears threatened to burst forth like a roaring fall, but I was doing everything I could to not explode at Koda. Reminding myself that this wasn't his fault. He does not deserve to get yelled at for our problems.

"I'm fine." I growled trying so hard to keep everything bottled up. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kenai glance in my direction. Worry was written across his face. Again, with the worry. Will everyone stop be being so worried?! I need something to distract me. Anything!

"Okay. Well, if you really want to know how me and my mom got separated, I was saving this story for the salmon run, but, I'll tell you two." Koda said. Kenai and I stopped. I could tell that Kenai was annoyed like usual and I was just thankful for the distraction. Koda continued, "It was probably the fifth or sixth most coldest day in my entire life.

"Oh. This sounds good. You should definitely save it." Kenai said.

"You think so?" Koda inquired.

"Yeah. For your friends." Kenai finished. Koda was about to tell another story, but Kenai said, "Nuh-uh-uh. How about no talking?"

"Okay. Then I'll Sing: _Tell everybody I'm on my way. New friends and new places to see." _Koda began singing much to my amusement and Kenai's annoyance. Kenai kept trying to get Koda to shut up and even trying stuffing in him in a log, but it didn't work. Kenai gave up and we kept on walking. Throughout the day, Koda kept trying to make Kenai laugh and I stood back a little to try and let them bond. Koda tried to mimick Kenai at one point, then he tried climbing on top of Kenai while we were trying to eat berries, told stories to some of the animals, and we went through this field of dandelion whose seeds were ready to blow off. Koda and I looked at each other and we knew exactly what the other was thinking. We ran through the fields and I watched in amazement as the seeds of the dandelions floated in the air. I looked back and laughed as I saw Kenai covered in it and he sneezed.

Later that night, I noticed that Koda tried to curl up next to Kenai, but Kenai got up and flopped down in the opposite direction of Koda. I sighed, but had some hope. Kenai may be stubborn, but he will eventually warm up to Koda. It was raining briefly the next day and I saw Koda following in Kenai's footsteps and I took this chance to go up to Kenai and asked, "How much longer will you continue to ignore Koda? You should give him a chance."

"He's a bear, Tehya. Besides, according to him, we'll be at the Salmon run in about a day. Then, we head to the mountain and we will transform back into humans. Then, we'll most likely never see Koda again." Kenai said. Little harsh, but I guess he makes a good point. I guess I better enjoy this friendship with Koda while I can.

A couple hours later, we came across a cliff that had a huge gust of wind. Koda went to the edge and leaned over it. The wind was strong enough to hold him! I went next to him and did the same thing and to my complete shock, Kenai joined us as well. Maybe he is finally warming to him after all. Suddenly, the wind stopped and Kenai, Koda, and I screamed as we fell down the side of the cliff and into a mud pile. Koda and I looked at Kenai and laughed because his hair was all spiked up. Kenai noticed it and smirked. He grabbed Koda and I and he used the mud smear our hair as well. We laughed and continued on. I thought that this day was going to turn out great, but then we heard screaming and we turned around to see two moose running towards us. What was going on with them?


	9. Healing

The moose caught up to them and they were breathing heavily. They were rambling a bunch of stuff like how's it going and I didn't know that you had a brother and a sister to which Kenai was about to correct them on, but the moose interrupted them. Wow. Something must've spooked them. Apparently, Denahi was still tracking us and the moose wanted us to protect them since we were bears.

"We lost the hunter back under the glacier." Kenai stated.

"So, you don't think that he'll follow those?" One of the moose asked.

"They are quite nice." The other one said. We looked behind us and saw that we had made the perfect trail for Denahi to find us. I would've face-palmed, but I didn't want to lose my balance. Another problem is that Denahi is a great tracker and knowing him, he'll catch up with us very soon. I whispered to Kenai, "What are we going to do?"

"I've got an idea." Kenai said. I looked at him strangely not sure whether or not I would like it. Soon enough, we were on mammoths. This has got to be strange for the other animals and doesn't exactly make us blend in with our surroundings, but I guess it was doing the trick, plus this is seriously fun. I began laughing and climbed up to the head of the mammoth and looked at the surroundings. I noticed Koda who said, "Okay. This is really weird." Couldn't blame the kid. The two moose whom I later learned are called Rut and Tuke were arguing about driving the mammoth. I rolled my eyes at the two and went up to the mammoth's head.

I looked back at Kenai and smiled when I saw that he was having a good time. Things were turning out for the better after all. We can get through this. Suddenly, I slipped and rolled down the mammoth's trunk and would've fallen, but the mammoth caught me and lifted me back on it's head. I could hear Kenai laughing behind me and turned around and stuck my tongue out at him.

I noticed that one of the other mammoths had lifted Koda up on it's trunk and Koda was able to stand up on it. Then, I noticed that Kenai was balancing himself on it as well. So, I decided to do it too. I nearly slipped, but I was able to catch my balance at the last minute. This was a lot of fun and daring as well. If only Denahi was here, he would join in on the fun as well. I had to shake that thought out of my head. I couldn't focus on him. I can't do anything for him in my bear state.

Eventually, I joined Kenai on his mammoth and snuggled next to him listening to Koda drone on and on about all his crazy adventures. When he got to the part about what snow was clean and which one wasn't, I dozed off.

_I was there at the glacier again. The scene of Sitka's death kept replaying over and over again. Each time, getting closer to Sitka's face. His determination and sorrow. Grief rode through me. The pestering thought of if I could've done something kept relaying. I sobbed against what I thought was Denahi, but, it turned to a man that I didn't recognize at first, but, then realized that it was father and there was a women next to him that I knew was my mother. Their eyes were cold. Everything was reminded of death. I missed them so much. I wondered what advice they would give to me. Then, my parents' image cracked like broken ice and dissolved. I was met with Denahi glaring at me saying, "Why did you leave me alone during this time? Why?" Then, his image shattered as well and I was met with Sitka's now cold stare. The ice beneath him cracked and he fell into the icy waters below. I screamed his name. _

I jerked awake and it took me a moment to adjust to my surroundings. I was still snuggled against Kenai. I wasn't at the glacier. Dawn wasn't here yet, but I knew that the sun would rise soon. I took a deep breath trying to hold everything in, but I just couldn't anymore. I started to cry. I did my best to stay strong, but I just couldn't anymore. My heart mourned for my parents, for Sitka, and Denahi. I missed them so much. It hurts so much.

"Tehya?" Kenai questioned. I quickly climbed back up the mammoth onto it's head careful not to hurt it or to annoy it. I tried to wipe away my tears, but I knew that I couldn't keep hiding them from Kenai anymore. He climbed up after me and said, "Tehya, are you alright? Please talk to me."

I let the tears loose again. Not caring anymore who so saw them. I embraced Kenai and sobbed, "Kenai, I miss him. I miss everyone. I miss mother, father, Sitka, and Denahi. I want things to go back to the way they were before. I tried to be strong, but I just can't anymore. I'm so lost, Kenai. What is going to happen to us when we reach this journey's end? What is going to change? I know that life isn't going to be the way like it used to be. I'm so scared of what's going to happen to us."

Kenai held me closer while I said these words. He said, "I don't know what's in store for us, Teyha. I'm just as confused as you are, but do you want to know what is keeping me going?"

I stifled a sob and asked, "What?"

"Well, first off, at the end of this journey, we'll finally be rid of you-know-who." Kenai joked.

I chuckled lightly and shoved him playfully, "Oh stop. He's not that bad."

"I know that now, but, what's really been keeping me going is you, Teyha. You've helped me more than you know and you're helping me by keeping me from going insane. I know that we'll be able to handle what comes next because we handle it together as siblings. What's that thing that you like to say because we're siblings?" Kenai questioned with a smirk.

I smiled and said, "We'll always stick together."

"That's right." Kenai said. I hugged him again and whispered, "Thank-you, Kenai."

"Anytime, little sis." Kenai said. It felt good to get that off my chest and I looked back and saw the first lights of dawn.

The start of a new day.


	10. Directions

When we were done talking, I climbed back down to Koda and gently shook him awake. He said, "Two more months, Mom." He rubbed his eyes and slowly awoke and I asked, "So, where are we?" He looked around as if he was confused. That wasn't a good sign. I know that look from anywhere. I've displayed it multiple times in the past.

"Well, which way?" Kenai questioned.

"Um. I think it's that way." Koda said. Oh no. We're lost.

"You think, or you know?" Kenai wondered. To further prove my point that we were lost, Koda pointed to a random direction and said that way. Kenai grumbled, "Why wasn't I turned into a homing pigeon? Come on, you two!" He jumped off the bear. I wasn't really liking where this was going. I followed after Kenai making sure that he wouldn't do anything stupid.

"Hey! Riding mammoths was you're idea." Koda defended. He turned to the mammoths and said, "Thanks for the ride, guys. see you. Lucky for you, I've been lost way worst than this. Last summer, I was with Bucky..."

"Enough with the stories! I don't care about the time you and Binky found the world's biggest pine-cone ever." Kenai said. This really isn't going to out well. While I have gotten into many arguments with my brothers in the past, Sitka was usually the mediator, but when they argued against each other, I was the mediator. I would listen to both sides of the argument, butter them up and try to make them see sense, then convince them to talk to each other. There have been a couple times in which that didn't work and I had to use... the tears. Only in desperate situations would I use that as a last result to try and manipulate them to finally see sense.

"First of all, his name's Bucky, not Binky. Second, it wasn't a pine cone, it was a pine nut. And it was huge, even bigger than your fat head. I'm sorry we're lost. Even though, it's your fault." Koda grumbled under his breath.

"My fault?! That's it." Kenai growled storming out. I probably should've stepped in, but I kind of wanted to see how this would play out as well, plus sometimes it's better to just let people to hash it out, then mediate. To let them get all that anger out. This just seems like that type of situation.

"Just remember, if it weren't for me, you'd still be hanging upside down." Koda said.

"First off, I would've let Tehya get me down from the tree eventually. Second of all, it would be better than being stuck nowhere with you and your blabbering mouth. I'm lost. I can't find my mommy. Will you take me to the salmon run? Why don't you just grow up?" Kenai questioned.

"Fine. I'll just go on my own then." Koda stated.

"Fine. Go ahead." Kenai said.

"Fine" Koda said. They repeated that a couple times, then Kenai growled, "Come on, Tehya." He stormed off and I ran to catch up with him while keeping an eye on which direction Koda went. I saw him take a deep breath and I took this as my shot. I began, "Kenai-" Then, I was interrupted by him, "I know. I know. I'll talk to him." I gave him my nod of approval and we went to go find Koda.

"Koda? Koda." Kenai shouted. I looked around and nudged Kenai. Koda was going towards a cave filled with pictographs filled with animals. Kenai, Koda, and I were in awe of it. While Koda went to observe more of it, Kenai and I looked at the hand prints of the people who lived here. Kenai put his paw over one. Then, we noticed that pictographs of the animals were spiraling all the way towards the roof. Then, we noticed something another painting. We walked closer towards it and saw that it was a painting of a bear fighting a man. I noticed Koda come up and hide behind us.

"Those monsters are really scary. Especially with those sticks." Koda said. Kenai and I looked at each other. He thinks that we're the monsters and here Kenai and I are thinking that bears are the monsters. We looked back at the picture, then Kenai said, "Come on. Let's go." We left the abandoned village and walked on for a while. Kenai allowed Koda to climb on his back and he carried him.

"So, you recognized anything yet? Or maybe you can't see past my fat head." We all laughed and Kenai said, "So, do you really think that I have a fat head?"

"Well, if you hunched your shoulders a little it wouldn't seem so big." Koda said. Oh. He doesn't realize what he just got himself into.

"Oh. You mean like this? Or like this? How about this?" Kenai questioned hunching both of his shoulders. Koda and Kenai laughed. I'm just glad that they're finally bonding. Then, we heard some noise and saw two mountain goats ahead.

"Hey! Maybe they can give us directions." I suggested. We walked over to the two mountain goats who were trying to impress a female goat by ramming their heads together and they were both arguing about which one the lady liked better.

"Uh. Hey? Excuse me?" Kenai questioned.

"What do you want?" One of the goats yelled. The sound echoed off the mountain. The goat was confused and asked, "What? What was that?"

"Uh... Just a minute, bear. Hey, shut up! No, you shut up!" Whatever they said just kept echoing back to them and they actually thought it was someone responding. They kept yelling the same phrase over and over again.

"I think their horns are screwed on too tight.' Koda commented. We lightly chuckled. Then, Koda sniffed and said, "Wait a second. I know this place!"

"You do?" Kenai questioned. Yes, finally we can keep moving.

"Yeah. The salmon run's not far. We just have to go through here." Koda said. Kenai and I went to where Koda was excited that we were almost there. Then, our jaws dropped as we saw what laid before us. A valley filled with rivers of lava and gas that sprung up from the ground. Kenai and I both looked at Koda with both our jaws hanging wide open. Koda looked at us and asked,

"What?"

We're doomed.


	11. Denahi

Koda ran far ahead of us and Kenai and I trailed behind. As delicately as we could, we made our way across this valley of fire. I stuck to Kenai as close as I could because I was genuinely terrified, which was something because normally Kenai and I were daredevils, but, even we knew when not to cross the line... Most of the time.

"Hey! You sure you know where we're going?" Kenai questioned as we tried to catch up to Koda. We heard him say, "Yeah! Yeah! Follow me!" We continued on and Kenai said, "Keep close to me, Tehya." I nodded in response. I'm not planning on leaving his side anytime soon. Then, the ground beneath Kenai's foot crumbled and steam came out of it. We quickly backed up. I looked around noticing that our small friend was missing.

"Koda? Koda?" I shouted walking around.

"Koda? Where are you?" Kenai wondered. We looked around, but we couldn't see him. Suddenly, heard Kenai scream and I screamed to because I thought something terrible was happening. I turned to see Koda laughing his head off. Really?

"Don't do that." Kenai stated.

"Scared you, didn't I?" Koda said.

"There's scared and then there's surprised." I stated trying to brush off my fear. Maybe this place isn't so bad after all if Koda wasn't afraid of it.

"And you two were both." Koda pointed out. Kenai and I glared at him, but Koda's attention was drawn to something else. "Whoa." He said. We turned to see what he was looking at and saw that there was a rock formation shaped like a skull. I turned to see Kenai smirking and knew what he had planned out. He roared right behind Koda, but Koda didn't even flinch. This kid was going to be hard to get pay back. Koda chuckled and turned to him, "Nice try. Ah. You gotta little spit right there." I looked at Kenai and laughed as I saw that he did have drool hanging out of his mouth.

"Huh. Kenai, Tehya." Koda said. Fear was written across his face.

"You're not getting us this time." Kenai said.

"No, Kenai, Tehya look out!" Koda shouted. Suddenly, a spear was thrown inches from us. We turned around and saw Denahi. He had caught up with us.

"Come on!" Koda shouted. I was about to run, but Kenai wasn't moving. I shouted, "Kenai!" The ground beneath Kenai's foot grumbled and steam puffed out. He still wasn't moving. Then, he roared and stood on his hind legs. He came came crashing down and the ground broke beneath him and the steam poured forth and prevented Denahi from hurting him. He turned to me and yelled, "Run, Tehya!" We were able to get across the valley and there was log for bridge leading to the forest. We were going to get out of here.

"Kenai! Tehya! Kenai, Tehya, where are you?" We heard Koda shout. He wasn't on the other side. I looked at Kenai and Kenai looked back at me and said, "Tehya, stay here. I'll be back. If Denahi comes, run across the bridge." He took off back into the valley. I waited anxiously for them. It wouldn't be long before Denahi shows up. Then, I saw Kenai and Koda running towards me.

"Go across the bridge, Tehya!" Kenai shouted while holding Koda. I began running, but almost slipped off. I would have to walk, but walk as fast as I can. I hurried across the bridge, then heard Koda shout. I turned around and saw that they were walking slowly now to otherwise they would fall into the river below.

"Kenai!" I shouted as I spotted Denahi. I felt so helpless. What could I do? What could I do? Denahi lodged his spear into the log and attempted to take out the log bridge. Kenai nearly slipped and fell into the water. "Kenai!" I shouted in fear again. He stood up and tossed Koda over to me. Denahi kept trying to take out the log bridge. The spear broke and he resulted to using his hands and was successful. Kenai barely made it to the other side before the log bridge collapsed.

I ran up to Kenai and hugged him while I heard Denahi shout, "NO!" I let go of Kenai and we both watched Denahi pace back and forth. My heart broke for him. I have never before more desperately wanted to reach out to him and tell him that it was Kenai and I. I watched in horror as Denahi jumped and barely cling onto the log. It wouldn't hold him for long. I had to do something. Otherwise, he was going to fall into the river below. I couldn't lose another brother. I climbed onto the log trying desperately to grab him with my jaws.

"Tehya!" Kenai shouted from behind me.

Denahi tried to swipe at me, but as his hand fell, I caught hold of his sleeve and attempted to pull him up. The log was steady for the moment and I turned to see that Kenai was holding it.

"Tehya, hurry! I can't hold it much longer." Kenai yelled. I tried to pull Denahi up, but I was struggling. He was too heavy for me.

"Kenai! Help me! I can't hold him much longer." I yelled. Suddenly, the log shifted and I stumbled and fell with the log and Denahi. Denahi and I both screamed. Then, someone grabbed the fur on the scruff on my neck, but the sleeve I was holding onto tore and I saw Denahi fall into the river below. Denahi... I saw him emerge from the water and grab hold of the log and I sighed with relief. He was alright. I turned to see that it was Kenai who caught me and he helped me back up to safety. Kenai embraced me and said, "I thought I almost lost you, Tehya."

I embraced him as well and said, "It's okay, Kenai. I'm right here." And physically, I was there, but mentally I was not. Once again, I was torn between two worlds.


	12. Memories

As we were walking, my mind kept going back to Denahi. I hoped that he was safe. My mind flashes through several with him over the years:

"_Tehya! You go that way and check the traps and I'll go this way. If an animal is caught in one of them, holler for me." Denahi said. My ten-year-old self nodded and I went in the direction he told me to go. For first couple minutes, there was nothing, but, then I screamed as my foot got caught in a trap and I was left hanging upside down from a tree. I yelled, "Denahi! Help!" Denahi came racing through the forest. Panic was clearly written on his face, but relief replaced it when he saw that I wasn't really in danger. He laughed, "Just wait till I tell Sitka and Kenai about this." He cut the rope and caught me as I fell to floor. I faced him and threatened, "You better not tell them or do you want me to tell them who actually accidentally lit the canoe on fire?" Denahi held up his hands in surrender and said, "Okay. Okay. You win. Now, let's go finish these traps."... _

_ My eight-year-old self raced across the stream with my best friend, Ahanu. We had just finished our list of chores and we were enjoying the warm weather. We splashed each other and when we were done, we were drenched and we chuckled. "Come on. We better get back." Ahanu said beginning to get up. I stood up and said, "You're right, but it's so beautiful outside. I could stay here forever." I flopped back into the water with my head above it and Ahanu laughed. Suddenly, we heard something in the woods. A low growling noise. I gasped and quickly got up and stood next to Ahanu. Then, something popped out of the woods and roared. Ahanu and I both fell to the ground and screamed. That's when we heard the laughter. We both looked back and saw... Denahi. I was so going to get him back for that. "DENAHI!" I shouted. _

_My five-year-old self trembled from the cold. It was the worst winter that we have ever had. My parents had passed on not long ago due to plague that had encompassed the village. Many had died from it. As winter rolled around, the danger of the plague passed, but now new danger was ahead of us. Surviving winter. It was the first winter without my parents and my brothers and were barely getting along. Night had come. It was so cold. I was freezing and I was so hungry, but we had to do our best to ration our food. It was snowing outside and Sitka had taken Kenai with him to gather more wood while Denahi stayed behind with me before the blizzard set in. The fire was barely flickering. Denahi came and sat next to me and put his own pelt around me. I huddled close to to him and we tried to to take in each other's warmth. "I know it's been rough these past few months, Tehya, but we'll get through this. I promise." Denahi whispered. I looked back up to him and asked, "How do you know that?" Denahi gave me a soft smile and answered while hugging me, "Because we have each other." _

I was snapped back into reality when Koda asked, "Why do they hate us, Kenai?"

"We're bears." Kenai answered.

"So?" Koda retorted.

"So, you know how they are. They're - They're killers." Kenai said.

"Wait a minute. Who's the killers?" Koda demanded to know.

"Bears." Kenai stated. Over the years, there have been incidents where people were mauled by bears. I shivered at the thought of that ever happening.

"What? Which bears? I'm not like that and you two are not like that." Koda pointed out.

"Well. Obviously, not all bears. I mean, you're okay, but most bears will look for any excuse to attack the human." Kenai explained.

"But, Kenai, he attacked us." Koda said. I thought over that for a while. What Koda said was right. Denahi did attack us first. Maybe there was a misunderstanding, but, then again, Koda was still a cub and had much to learn.

"You're just a cub. When you're older, you'll understand." Kenai retaliated.

"Fish, fish, fish, FISH!" A seagull cried out. It zoomed right past us.

"We made it. We're here! Come on!" Koda cheered.

"What? Koda!" I shouted. Suddenly, Kenai and I were both bombarded by seagulls and we tried to push them away, but we ended up falling into a stream. Filled with a ton of bears. So, naturally...

We both screamed.


	13. Salmon

Kenai and I stopped screaming as we saw that the bears weren't attacking. Instead, they were just looking at us strangely. Oh. Right. We're fellow bears. Of course. Why would they attack us? Now this was just awkward. "Hey. You're stirring up the water." One of the bears said. He had light brown fur and weird yellowish hair. There was a huge dark brown bear in front us that also commented, "Yeah. Try not to scare off the fish now, buddy." Then, his attention was drawn to Koda and he yelled, "Hey, Koda! Come here! Look at you." He lifted Koda and threw him into the air and caught him.

"Hey, Tug. Have you seen my mom yet?" Koda questioned.

"No. As a matter of fact, I haven't seen her." Tug answered.

"Ha. Me and my friends, Kenai and Tehya beat her." Koda said. The bears started to get closer to us. I backed behind Kenai slightly afraid of the overwhelming amount of bears. "They're with you?" Tug wondered. We both gave a slight wave, then we both jumped as they started sniffing us.

"Huh. I've never seen you two at the run before. Where are you from? Where's the little one's mother?" Tug questioned gesturing to me. I stayed silent too fearful to speak. "She's my little sister. Our mo-mother and f-f-father are gone. We-We-re f-f-fro-" Thankfully, we saved from explaining anything further by Koda interrupting, "See, Kenai and Tehya. There's the mountain. Just like I promised. The lights touch the top every single night. Gonna be a lot harder getting up there than it was riding those mammoths." Oh no.

"Mammoths! That's kind of weird." Everyone exclaimed. Kenai tried to signal Koda to stop talking, but Koda kept rambling, "Yeah. Those two do a lot of weird stuff like the way they drink water with a leaf, they've never sharpened their claws on a tree before, they've never hibernated before, they go around looking for-"

"Koda! Koda! Excuse us." Kenai said. Kenai and I took Koda out of ear shot of the group. Then, Kenai said, "Okay. Okay. Koda, we, uh. Uh. We gotta get going." As he said this, I grew sad. It was really great to get know Koda, but Kenai was right. We do need to get going. Denahi need us.

"What why not?" Koda wondered. I was attempting to explain to him, but, suddenly, Tug came up behind us and said, "You two are leaving?"

"What? No, I mean yes. Well, it's just that. Tehya and I don't belong here." Kenai said.

"Don't belong here. Every bear belongs here. Come on, buddies. Let's have some fun." Tug said. They started running dragging Kenai and I with them. As they were leading us, two cubs who looked around my age, jumped down from a branch and waved at me as they ran off. Then, we were lead to a place filled with different waterfalls that poured into pools. There were so many bears playing around in the water. It was actually a beautiful sight.

We began exploring and I was separated from Kenai because the other kids wanted me to play with them. This was so cool. Back in my village, there were were only like three other kids the same age as me. Here there were several my age. We began playing tag and I glanced at the younger children with their mothers. Over the years, I haven't had pretty much little to no female influence. It was basically my brothers and I. The only female that I was somewhat close to was Tanana.

"Come on, Tehya!" One of the other kids shouted. I laughed and chased after them. We jumped into the fall and slid down to the water below. It was awesome! We continued playing around with each other. They even taught me how to catch a fish with my jaws! It was so much fun. I looked around wondering where Kenai and Koda were and spotted Koda sitting on a log. I didn't know where Kenai was, but I wasn't too worried. He'll show up soon I'm sure. I decided that this was the perfect time for pay back for him scaring us earlier. I dove down in the water and swam towards Koda making sure he didn't see me.

Then, I popped out of water, roaring, and brought Koda down back into the water with me. He shrieked while I was doing that. We both burst out of the water and we looked at each other and laughed. Koda laughed, "You finally got me, Tehya." We both got back onto the log and Koda said, "Where's Kenai?" We looked around I noticed a dark shadow fall over us and we looked up to see Kenai falling towards us. We got out of the way, but when Kenai landed on the log, he shot Koda and I up into the air, but we landed back on Kenai along with a huge fish. Was that what he was going after. We laughed and Kenai raised Koda into the air.

This day was blast.


	14. Truth

We all gravitated towards the shore. They others said it was story time or something. Tug said, "Alright, settle down, everyone. Settle down. Hey. Don't throw your fish bones there. Someone could joke on that. Look, okay, I'll go first. Okay, let's see. The most interesting thing that happened to me this year. Hmm... Oh. I know, I know, I know. Listen to this. I'd say that it was when I finally knocked down that tree that was blocking the view from my cave. Now I got a family of chipmunks staying at my place." He looked down and I snickered as I noticed that the family of chipmunks was there. He cleared his throat and said, "Yeah. Alright, everybody. Let me see some paws in the air! Who's next? Come on!" He was about to throw it to on side, but he threw it somewhere else.

An elderly female bear caught it and said, "This year I lost my dear husband, Edgar."

"Quit telling everyone I'm dead!" Someone shouted.

"Sometimes. I can still hear his voice." She continued. She threw the fish and a grey bear caught it. He started to speak in a foreign language and we just mildly stared at him when he finished not sure what to do. Then, he laughed and we slightly laughed as well. Koda tried to catch it, but someone else grabbed the fish before he did. They started talking about how the other person was more gorgeous. I rolled my eyes and whispered to Kenai, "Perhaps when I'm older, I'll understand this."

Kenai's eyes widened and he said, "First of all, that kid will have to go through Denahi and I." Then, in a panicked voice, he said, "Second, take your time with understanding that. Take your _sweet_ time. In fact, have that be several years before you fully understand. Remember, you're only twelve. You've got lots of time. Plus, you've gotta give Denahi and I more time to fully prepare for that day." I looked at him strangely not really understanding what he meant and said, "Okay..."

Suddenly, the fish was thrown through the air, Koda shouted, "This has got to be it!" Kenai caught it and tried to give it to Koda, but Koda said, "You've gotta tell it, Kenai."

"That's right. You caught it, you tell it." Tug said.

"Didn't you and Tehya play this game when you were cubs?" Koda wondered. Kenai and I glanced at each other. Everyone cheered Kenai on to tell it and Kenai said, "Okay. Alright, already. Alright. You want to know what my sister and I did this year?"

"YES!" Everyone shouted.

"Tehya and I went on the longest, hardest, most exhausting journey I've ever been on with the biggest pain in the neck I've ever met." Kenai said giving Koda a slight smile and I smiled too catching on to what he was doing.

I said, "What do you expect-" Then, Kenai finished, "From a little brother." We both gave Koda a big hug.

"Okay, buddy. Your turn." Kenai said tossing it to Koda.

"Let's hear it, Koda." Tug said.

"Okay, okay. Here we go." Koda cleared his throat and said quickly, "This year I watched my mom in a life-and-death struggle possibly battling the most fiercest creature on the earth. Okay, who's next?" That perked my interest and everyone else's too because we told Koda that we all wanted to hear that story, so Koda continued,

"I thought you might say that. Hmm... Let's see. It was probably the fifth or sixth most most coldest day in my entire life. Me and mom were eating fish, having a great time. When, all of a sudden, she pushes me into the bushes and tells me to real quiet. She says, 'I smell something.' So, she started sniffing. There's something in the woods running right towards us, getting closer and closer. And, then, out of the trees, jumps... TWO HUNTERS! And, now, there's no where for Mom to go. The monster has her backed up against this giant glacier!" Suddenly, my mind goes back to the day when Sitka died. My mind passes through the moments of me begging Kenai to get out of there. Was that really Koda's mother?

"The male monster attacks, but mom's too quick for him. And before he can do it again, she stands up real big and yells, 'GO AWAY!' Mom turned to the other one, the female. She charges towards the female hunter who backed up against a tree, then stops as the female hunter screamed. The scream sounded young and Mom figured that the female hunter was only a cub, she was about to leave the cub alone when Mom smelled more of them. There's a whole pack coming right us. One of the other hunters attacked Mom to protect the cub hunter, but Mom was too quick once again. Then, she runs up to stop the other three before they can get to me and they're all around her poking her with sticks. The whole thing broke and fell into the water. There was ice everywhere! She couldn't hold her breath any longer, before POW! She bursts out of the water. I've never been so scared in my life."

My mind recollected all the events of that day. It was exactly how Koda described. To when the bear, Koda's mother, charged me, to Denahi fending her off, to Sitka's death, then Kenai... My eye's widened in horror. Kenai said that... he killed the bear...

Kenai killed Koda's mother.


	15. Honesty

After the story, Kenai and I stood there panicking as we realized why everything that occurred did. I looked over at Kenai and saw the fear and shame in his eyes. The other bears were talking about the story and how amazed they were at it. We were horrified. I noticed Kenai backing up and Koda and Tug asked if he was okay. I knew that he wasn't. Then, he ran off. I was freaking out, but I couldn't imagine what must be going through Kenai's head. I was about to go off after him, but was stopped by Koda who asked, "Tehya, what's wrong with Kenai? What wrong with you?"

I shook my head trying to clear my thoughts. I looked at him and said, "It's not my place to tell you, Koda. I'm sorry. I wish I could be of more help, but I've gotta go catch up to Kenai."

Koda said, "Let me come with-" But, I interrupted him, "No!" Koda grew sad and I realized that I raised my voice. I quickly said, "I'm sorry, Koda. I really am, but Kenai and I need some time alone. You can come find us later though, okay?" Koda nodded in understanding. He still looked worried and confused and I didn't blame him. I was too. I left Koda at the run and went off to find Kenai. I eventually found him sitting near the edge of an overlook.

I didn't talk or say anything. I knew that it pointless to ask if he was okay because obviously he wasn't. So, I just curled up next him and put my hand/paw on his just to let him know I'm there. It was silent for several moments before Kenai said, "I don't know what to do, Tehya. How do I tell Koda that his mother isn't coming back and it's because of me? I don't want to hurt him, but I guess it's too late for that. He's going to hate me forever and I wouldn't blame him if it comes to that."

"It's your decision to tell. Just speak with your heart and be honest with him about what happened. It's better to do that than to lie to him." I told him.

Kenai gave me a soft smile and said, "I really don't know what I'd do without you, Tehya. Thank you for being here."

"No problem, Kenai." I said. We sat there in silence knowing soon that we'll have to confront Koda. We could see the lights touch the earth as it was growing dark. We didn't say anything even when dawn came. Then, Koda came up and attempted to scare us and said, "Scared you again, huh?" He laughed, then said, "Where have you been? You look horrible. My mom says when you eat too much fish, you should just lie down." It took a moment, but we got Koda's attention.

"Koda, there's something I -uh- you know that story you told Tehya and I last night?" Kenai questioned.

"Yeah." Koda answered.

"Well, I-I have a story to tell you." Kenai said.

"Really? What's it about?" Koda wondered.

"Well, it's kind of about a man and kind of about a bear, but, mostly it's about a monster. A monster who did something so bad." Kenai said. He began to explain to Koda everything that had happened. He told Koda about how Kenai and I were actually humans and explained the fight at the glacier from our point of view. Kenai told him about the funeral and, when we got to the part about Koda's mother, he said, "Koda, I did something very wrong." Kenai explained about the killing the bear and how he became one and I told Koda about how I became one.

"I don't like this story." Koda said backing up when we were reaching the end.

"You're mother's not coming." Kenai explained.

"No, no." Koda cried. He ran off into the woods and we called after him. It had begun to snow and it was hard to see where Koda had went.

"Koda? Koda! Koda, I wish I could... If there was just some way... I'd give anything!" Kenai shouted. I caught up with him and noticed that he was his observing his bear paw print. Then, he formed the paw print into a human hand. My heart broke when I saw that. It felt like ages ago that we were humans. Kenai said, "I'm sorry, Koda. I'm so sorry." I put my paw on Kenai's shoulder. He embraced me and embraced him. We were like that for a few moments before we let go of each other.

"Do you think that we should keep moving?" I asked. I didn't want to to leave, but I don't think that Koda was going to come out anytime soon. Kenai looked around one more time than sighed and nodded. We continued off towards where the lights touch the earth not knowing about what would happen next.


	16. Understanding

The climb to the mountain was treacherous, but we eventually made it to the top of the mountain. We looked around and no one was there. "Sitka!" I called out. There was no answer and kept close to Kenai to try and keep warm. "Sitka, are you there?" Kenai also called out. Again, there was no answer. We looked down in defeat. We had lost so much to get here. What else could we do? Kenai must've thought the same because he said, "Please. Please, Sitka. I don't know what else to do."

Then, we spotted something in the snowstorm. A figure that looked like an eagle. "Sitka?" I wondered, but as the figure got closer, I realized that it wasn't Sitka. It was another hunter and it wasn't just any hunter.

"Denahi." Kenai said. He started backing up a ways, but I stood there frozen in fear. Denahi started to charge Kenai and he shouted, "Sitka! Hurry! Change me back!" Denahi was about to stab Kenai, but Kenai blocked him. I snapped out of my shock and yelled, "Kenai!" I ran towards him as Denahi and him were fighting. I jumped onto to Denahi's back and tried to use my weight to pull him away from Kenai. Then, Denahi grabbed me and he threw me against the rock and my vision grew blurry for a moments.

"Tehya!" Kenai shouted. He tried to run towards me, but Denahi jumped onto Kenai's back.

"Where are you, Sitka?" I whispered standing up and shook my head to try to clear my vision. Then, to my horror, Denahi and Kenai fell off the cliff. "KENAI! DENAHI!" I shouted. I ran towards the edge and saw that they had landed on smaller ledge. Both were out of it for a second, but Denahi stood up, but Kenai wasn't.

"Kenai!" I shouted. I quickly climbed down the cliff hoping that I would make it in time to save him. When I reached the bottom, I saw that Denahi had already been knocked to the side and it was by Koda.

"Koda?" I heard Kenai question. I went up to Koda and would've given the cub a hug under better circumstances. Then, I noticed Denahi was looking at his spear and I knew what he was planning. I glanced at Koda and we both nodded. We had to do what we could to protect Kenai. As Denahi charged, we started running towards the spear and we had a head start.

"NO!" Kenai shouted. We both grabbed the spear at the same time and starting running with Denahi close on our tails. "Leave them alone!" Kenai yelled. Then, we both tumbled, Denahi grabbed the spear, and switched around as Kenai had caught up to us yelling, "Tehya, Koda!"

"KENAI!" I screamed in horror. Suddenly, lights filled the entire mountain. Sitka was here. I started to cry tears of joy as I saw Kenai being lifted down and he was transformed back into a human.

"Kenai?" Denahi asked completed shocked. The eagle who carried him transformed into Sitka. I was so happy too see him, both of them. Denahi then questioned, "Sitka?" His mouth was hanging wide open as Sitka came and took off the cloak that Denahi was wearing and wrapped it around Kenai. He also took Kenai's totem, which was wrapped around the spear. I walked up to Denahi and rubbed my head against him. Denahi jumped and looked at me and was looking like he was trying to recognize me.

"Denahi, it's Tehya." Kenai pointed out. I gave him a smile in my bear form and I was wondering when Sitka was going to change me back into a human.

"Tehya!" Denahi exclaimed. He looked rather pale and looked as if he were about to pass out. Then, Sitka transformed me back into a human and rapped another cloak around me. I couldn't wipe the smile off my face and ran to give Denahi a hug. I quickly embraced him and he embraced me as well and I could feel him shaking. I didn't blame him. I would be too.

"I thought that you two had perished by a bear's hand." Denahi whispered. My eyes widened at that statement and everything made sense now. That would explain why Denahi was hunting us to the brink of madness. Then, I heard something. A grunt of a small cub. I turned around to see Koda hiding behind a rock. Koda. What was going to happen to him? Kenai and I slowly walked over to him and Kenai said, "Koda? Koda, don't be afraid."

"It's us." I finished. Koda came out from behind the rock and I knew that he recognized us. He jumped into Kenai's arms and Kenai hugged him. I giggled and smiled at the two. Those two have a special bond. I noticed Sitka hand Kenai his totem to which he showed Koda. I got up and stood next to Denahi putting a hand on his shoulder. Then, Kenai turned to Sitka, Denahi, and I and said, "He needs me."

"You know... He did look better as bear. What do you think, Tehya?" Denahi questioned with a glint in his eyes. He messed up my bangs and I pushed him away laughing and said, "I do agree with him." Kenai laughed, then said, "But, Denahi, Tehya..."

"It's alright, Kenai." Denahi said.

"No matter what you choose..." I started.

"You'll always be our brother. My little brother to be exact." Denahi said.

"What about you, Tehya?" Sitka questioned. Everyone turned to me. I stood there frozen and asked, "What do you mean?"

"You have a choice, Tehya. You've questioned what your purpose will be throughout this journey. Do you know what that means now?" Sitka wondered. I thought about it for a moment. Throughout this journey, I had been wondering about what my purpose in life was. When it came down to it, I wanted to be with those who needed help. When I was offered to join Kenai, I did it because I knew that he needed me, then I saw Denahi and it broke my heart to see him hurting. I wanted to provide comfort for the hurt. I answered, "Yes, I think I do. My purpose is to be with those who need me."

Sitka gave me a proud smile as did Kenai and Denahi. Then, Sitka said, "As I said before, you have a choice. You can be with Kenai and remain a bear, or you can go with Denahi and remain human." I looked up towards Kenai and Denahi. I didn't know what to do, but I knew that I had to make a choice. I thought about my journey with Kenai. It was interesting being a bear and it wouldn't be a bad thing, but I thought about what my purpose was. To be with those who needed me. Kenai. As much as I hate to admit it, he doesn't need my help anymore. I know that he will be just fine with Koda. I looked towards Denahi. He would be alone. I couldn't bear to leave Denahi again.

I answered, "Kenai, as interesting as it was being a bear, it doesn't suit me as it suits you. Plus, Denahi needs me." Kenai gave me a slight smile understanding what I was saying and I could see relief flood through Denahi.

"I understand, but you'll always be my little sister." Kenai said.

"And you'll always be my older brother. Plus, remember the last time we left Denahi alone?" I whispered that last part to him and he snorted.

"What was that?" Denahi questioned.

"Nothing!" Kenai and I called back. The three of us gave a group hug and when we let go of each other. Kenai was a bear once more.

"Did I say little earlier?" Denahi teased.

"Hey!" Kenai exclaimed. My eyes widened and I stated, "Kenai! I still understand you!"

"Really?" Kenai questioned. The three of us turned to Sitka who explained, "Since Tehya was willing to turn herself into a bear when she didn't do anything wrong and made the choice to stay with Denahi, she will now have the ability to understand bears, but only bears, I'm afraid." I smiled and Sitka, Denahi, Kenai, and I embraced each other in a group hug, then we turned I saw that Koda was with his mother. My heart practically melted when I saw that. Koda so deserved to see his mother again.

Then, we watched as Sitka and Koda's mother depart from us. I was saddened but I felt blessed to have seen Sitka again. Kenai sneaked up behind Koda who shouted, "Kenai!" When he saw him as a bear again. Denahi and I chuckled at the scene. The two started wrestling and Denahi and I gave each other a knowing look. We joined in as well.

When we got off the mountain, it took a couple days journey to get back to the village. The four of us traveled back there together. When we got back, Kenai was ready to put his mark on the wall next to our ancestors. When I saw Ahanu, I quickly embraced him and, for some reason, he started to tear up when he let go. He explained to me that the village thought that a bear had killed me when they found my clothes torn at my tree fort and bear tracks leading away from it. The story of Kenai and I becoming bears spread throughout the village like wildfire when we explained everything.

The day of Kenai's ceremony came. Denahi and I had the honor of lighting the antlers on fire. Afterwards, we embraced Tanana. It felt so long since I had last seen her. We turned around and saw Kenai coming towards us. I glanced towards the children and saw Koda sitting among them. When Kenai reached us. Denahi and I grabbed his paw and together we placed his mark of the wall next to the hands of our ancestors. I felt so incredibly proud of Kenai and became thoughtful afterwards.

Throughout this journey, Kenai had desperately wanted to prove himself a man and he was able to achieve it. He showed Denahi and I that love is very powerful and I could tell that Kenai's story will be told for years to come among our tribe and possibly many others. This boy became a man by becoming a bear.


	17. Koda's Outtakes

**Koda**: Hi, everybody! I found a whole reel of scenes that didn't make it into the fan-fiction and I thought that you would want to see them.

**Action**

**_The Jumping to her Brothers Scene_**

**Kenai: **We won't let you fall. I promise. You ready?

_Tehya nodded and both Kenai and her jumped off the rock and made it to the other one. Denahi caught Tehya, but Sitka only grabbed the canoe Kenai was carrying and Kenai slipped and screamed while he fell into the water below. Denahi, Sitka, and Tehya laughed. _

**_Director: Guys, one of you was supposed to catch him. _**

**Action**

**_Tehya trying to save Denahi Scene_**

**Tehya: **Kenai, help me! I can't hold him much longer!

_Tehya and Denahi both fell. Kenai attempted to grab Tehya, but missed and the two fell into the water below. Tehya and Denahi both grabbed onto the log. Tehya looked up angrily at Kenai._

**Tehya: **KENAI!

**_Director: Quicker reaction time, Kenai. _**

**Action**

**_Stampede Scene_**

**Tehya: **Get down! Get down! Get down!

**Denahi: **Kenai! Tehya!

_As Kenai and Tehya are running from the herd, Tehya slips and Kenai goes back to help her forgetting about the stampeding herd behind them. They both scream as the herd reaches them. _

**Director: **_**Can somebody call an ambulance? **_

**Sitka: **Who's idea was it to have a stampeding herd behind those two in the first place?

**Action**

**_Mammoth Scene_**

_As the mammoth lifted Tehya back onto it's head, Kenai was laughing and Tehya stuck her tongue at him, then she was drenched in water by mammoth, which caused everyone to laugh, then Tehya joined in the laughter as well. _

**Action**

**_Denahi vs. Kenai fight_**

**Tehya: **Kenai!

_Tehya jumped onto Denahi's back, but she shifted her weight the wrong way which caused Denahi and Tehya to scream as they both tumbled off the cliff onto the smaller ledge below. _

**Director: ****_Can someone grab those two and help them back on? We're losing the blizzard. _**

**Action**

**_Cutting Kenai Down Scene_**

_Tehya and Koda were goofing off and playing tag unaware that they had started rolling. Kenai was attempting to get the kids' attention since he was stuck in a tree._

**Director: ****_Uh, guys? We said action!_**

_The two stopped playing, but in doing so, Koda had run into Tehya and the three of them started laughing. _

**Director: ****_Let's take five. _**

**Koda: Thanks, everybody. See ya!**


	18. The Amulet

**3rd Person **

**_8 years ago..._**

_ Five year old Tehya raced along the pathway a ways from the village. She had just gotten away from Denahi and was eager to explore the woods a little bit, but not too far away that she won't be able to find her way home. She felt a sense a freedom right now and that didn't always happen with her older brothers breathing down her neck. But, now, Sitka was on a hunt, Denahi had gotten distracted, and Kenai was no where to be found. She headed towards the lake that her parents always took her siblings and her. It helped her... think of them. Their parents passed two weeks ago. It's been hard on all of them. They were trying to remain strong and fight their way through at this time because being out here was tough. The elements were incredibly harsh and there was a plague going around. The same plague took their parents. _

_ Tehya reached the lake and her thoughts shifted. She giggled with excitement and played along the shoreline yelling with excitement. She hadn't felt this good in a long time. To feel the wind in her face. As she calmed down and admired the scenery, she heard something. Crying. She heard someone crying. Where was it coming from? Who could it be? She dashed along the shore and into the forest. She slowed down and in the distance, she could see her older brother, Kenai crying behind a tree. Tehya slowly walked up to him and he looked up and was startled to see his little sister. _

_ "Why you crying, Kenai?" Tehya questioned eyes full of curiosity. _

_ "It's nothing. You shouldn't be here, Tehya. Where's Denahi? He isn't far behind you, is he?" Kenai wondered looking around. _

_ Tehya shook her head and said, "I sneak away. Wanted to play not do chores." Tehya kicked a stick and flopped to the ground next to Kenai. _

_ "I get what you mean. Everything's changed since..." Kenai stopped talking. Tehya wondered what he was going to say and saw that his were watering once more. _

_ "Do you wanna play with me, Kenai?" Tehya questioned. _

_ Kenai shook his head and said, "Not this time, Tehya. I just want to be alone. Go back to Denahi. He'll be worried. Don't tell him I'm here, okay?" _

_ Tehya sighed and said, "Okay." Tehya stood up and said, "Come back soon." Kenai nodded and Tehya took off once again. _

_ She found her way back to the tribe and was immediately scooped up by Denahi who looked scared._

_ "Tehya, don't wonder off like that again. I was worried. I wouldn't ever forgive myself if I lost you plus Sitka would've killed me and Kenai would never let me hear the end of it. Speaking of Kenai, where is he?" Denahi looked around, but, before yelled Tehya said,_

_ "Could you help me, Denahi?" _

_ Denahi looked back down at his little sister taken back, then said, "Sure. What do you need help with?" _

_ "Can you help me make a necklace for, Kenai? He seems sad." Tehya said. Denahi then looked at her with concern and with sincerity said, "Of course, lets go get some supplies for it." Tehya giggled as Denahi lifted her onto his shoulders. Tehya, with the help of Denahi, ended up crafting an amulet looking like a sea shell. While they making it, Kenai pokes his head in and Denahi had to shoo him away so he wouldn't see it. When they were done, Tehya held it proudly. _

_ "You ready to give him the amulet, Tehya?" Denahi questioned. Tehya nodded and dashed off to find Kenai. _

_ "Kenai! Kenai!" Tehya shouted. Kenai came up to her and asked, "What is it, Tehya?" _

_ Tehya held up the amulet and with a proud smile said, "I didn't want you to be sad, so I made this for you." Kenai's eyes widened and he gently took the amulet from her._

_ "Do you like it?" Tehya wondered. _

_ Kenai looked back at her and said, "I love it, Tehya." As he hugged her and kissed her on the head, he whispered, "Thank-you."_

_**One Year Later**_

___Kenai got the fire going in the cave at Okani falls. His best friend, Nita, sat there shivering because earlier they had an incident where Nita nearly drowned if it weren't for Kenai. This was also Nita's last day here because her family was moving away. Kenai knew his friend was upset and he wanted to cheer her up. Then, he got an idea. He gazed at the amulet. Tehya made it for him a year ago and it was probably his greatest treasure. Tehya made it for him because he was hurting because of the loss of his parents. Now Nita was hurting because she was moving away. Maybe the amulet will help her like it did him. He stood up and placed the amulet around her neck while saying, "Here."_

_ Nita looked up at him and smiled. She stood up and began drawing on the wall. Kenai wondered what she was drawing and smiled when it was a picture of him and Nita. Nita stated, "We're always going to be best friends, huh?" Kenai gazed at the photo a little longer, then his attention was drawn to something else. There were a ton of dazzling lights. They turned around and saw that everything was beginning to change. Winter was changing into spring. _

_ "Nita, time to go!" Nita's father called. _

_ "Good bye, Kenai." Nita said. Both of them were sad for a moment until Nita punched Kenai in the shoulder._

_ "Hey!" Kenai exclaimed. Both of them laughed as she ran down the hill to where her father was waiting in the canoe. "See ya!" Nita yelled. Kenai watched and waved while calling out, "Bye, Nita!" He stood there for a while until they disappeared. Kenai wandered back into the village feeling a little down. He saw his little sister, Tehya, running up to him. _

_ "Hi, Kenai!" Tehya exclaimed tackling him in a hug. When she let go, she noticed something was off. She crossed her arms and said, "Kenai, where's the amulet?" _

_ Kenai's eyes widened. What was he going to tell her? He stuttered, "I-uh. I lost it." Tehya stomped her little foot in frustration and huffed, "Of course, you did." She stormed off and brushed past Sitka who came up and asked, "What's wrong with your sister?" _

_ "I lost her amulet." Kenai said. _

_ "Did you really lose her amulet?" Sitka wondered. Kenai shifted his feet and admitted, "No, I gave it to Nita. Don't tell, Tehya. Please, Sitka." _

_ "Alright, fine. Just know that she is never going to forget this." Sitka said. Kenai looked down not sure if what he was saying was true. _

**_7 Years Later (Present)_**

Nita sat in the shaman's in complete distress. Her wedding with Atka has been completely ruined and the people say that it was a sign. She said to to the shaman, "I don't understand. How could this happen? The villagers say that it's a sign."

"The villagers? What the heck do they know? Do you want the advice of the villagers or a professional?" The shaman said.

"Oh no. Definitely a professional. They say that in all the tribes that you are the wisest shaman." Nita explained trying to get on her good graces once more. The shaman turned back to her and said, "Sha-woman. Okay. Wise and man don't belong in the same sentence. Let's get down to business. So, the ice cracked out right from under you. So, you haven't put on a few pounds? Oh come on. Girl to girl."

Nita pushed the shaman away and stated, "No, my weight's been constant."

"Well, lucky you, miss constant-weight. Tell you what. Why don't we just ask the spirits okay?" She poured dust into the fire and the smoke ascended high into the air. She listened for a few minutes. Nita wondered what they were saying, but the sha-woman said, "Don't interrupt. It ain't all about you. Uh-huh. They say... you can't marry Ka-Ka."

"Atka." Nita corrected.

"Whatever. The point is. You're already matched up, miss two-timer." The sha -woman informed her.

"Already matched up? With whom?" Nita wondered.

"To the one who gave you this. Look at the picture. That thing is crystal clear." The sha-woman said. She pointed into the smoke and the image of a very familiar amulet appeared. Nita whispered, "Kenai?"

"The bear boy?" The sha-woman asked crossing her arms.

"Oh no no no. We were just kids." Nita said.

"I've heard that one before." The shaman said. Nita begged for a way to undo this and the sha-woman said, "Undo it? You can't undo what's been done. It's done. Case closed. No more conversation." The fire lit higher behind her and she said, "There is one way. You must go and eat an ox!"

"What?" Nita questioned.

"Oh wait. I'm sorry." She grabbed a shell and listened more closely. Then, said, "It's the equinox! Does this place mean anything to you?"

"Okani falls? That's where Kenai gave me the amulet." Nita said.

"You've got to go to Okani falls. And on the eve of the equinox when the spirits change winter into spring, you must burn the amulet and send the bond back up to the ancestors!" When the sha-woman finished, she said in a lower voice, "You know, you might want to write some of this down?" Nita began panicking and saying that she needs to get going because the equinox was only three days away. To this the shaman said, "Uh. With the person who gave you the amulet."

"Kenai? But, he's a bear." Nita said.

"Yeah?" The sha-woman said not seeing the problem.

"You know. A bear." Nita imitated a bear by growling.

"Uh. I know what a bear is. For you to find him, you must seek out one more person and the person is..." The sha-woman leaned close smoke and announced, "You must find... TINY! Wait. That's not right... Oh. Right... You must find... TEHYA!"

"His sister? I haven't seen her in years and she was so little the last time I saw her. She's gotta be what... Thirteen now? She won't even recognize me. Even if I managed to find her and she leads me to Kenai. How will I talk to him?" Nita wondered.

"Well, Tehya does know how to understand bears, but it would be less of a struggle if the both of you could understand bears. How will you talk to him?" She gasped and threw some dust into the fire and they heard a bear. Suddenly, the smoke in the form of a bear flew into Nita. "Don't be afraid. It's in there." It took a couple tries, but she was able to roar like a bear.


	19. Nita

Peace and Quiet. There were few things that I could get at this point of time. Peace and Quiet. I waded through the stream in hopes of catching some fish. Normally, my older brother, Denahi, would be with me or Ahanu, my best friend, would lend me a hand, but both were busy and I was completely fine without them. I rarely got time to myself these days. Denahi was on a hunt with a couple other members of the tribe and he wouldn't be back for a couple days and Ahanu was busy helping his father. Over the past eight months, Denahi has been glued to my side and would rarely let me out of his sight.

After what happened with my other brother, Kenai, who is now a bear, Denahi was worried for the first two weeks that I would go back with him and transform into a bear and disappear forever. Over time, Denahi finally let me go off on my own and he isn't as worried as he once was. Honestly, he can such a dork at times, but I couldn't blame him because the events that he and all of us went through were rather traumatic. What has made things worse is that I have not seen Kenai in over eight months. I get that he hibernated for six of those months, but the other two months of absolutely zero communication was inexcusable.

I knew that Kenai and Koda were out of hibernation and I've been meaning to take the time off to go and find him and ensure that he never makes the mistake of not seeing me in over eight months again. Fishing was my last chore and then I would fine for the rest of the day. The bad part is that I have been fishing for the last hour and have caught absolutely nothing. At this point, I was annoyed at practically everyone except Ahanu.

Not long ago, I decided to ditch my usual single braid because I wanted something new. I tucked back my long black hair that had a couple of smaller braids that had beads in them and gazed down into clear water ready to catch the unsuspecting fish in my net. As I waiting, I could see my brown eyes glancing back at me in the reflection. Then, I started pulling as hard as I could. It was the first catch I had all day. I lifted the net and I counted at least five fish in there. Finally, a decent catch.

"Excuse me! Are you, Tehya?" Someone called from behind me. There goes the silence. I groaned and turned around to see a woman, who looked around Kenai's age. She seemed slightly familiar, but I wasn't sure why. I didn't even know who this person was. Clutching the net as tight as I could, I wondered, "Yeah and who are you? What's your business?" The woman looked slightly nervous as she stood near the edge of the water.

"Well, it's kind of hard to explain. My name is Nita. I used to be friends with your brother, Kenai. Many years ago. I'm trying to find him." The woman, Nita said. That's when it clicked. I do mildly remember her. Kenai mentioned her once or twice when he shared funny stories with me from the past. I reached the shore and dumped the fish into the basket and placed the lid over it. I securely tightened the lid with some rope and held it up.

"I remember you now. What are you doing back here? I thought you moved a long time ago." I wondered.

"Well, you see. I am in a bit of a situation. I was told that you could guide me to Kenai because you would most likely know where he is. I need him to help me because... well, we have to burn this amulet." Nita said. She held up an old amulet carved... LIKE A SEA-SHELL!

"He told me he lost it! Oh. When I get my hands on him..." I started mumbling absolutely enraged.

"What do you mean? Kenai gave me the amulet the day I left." Nita explained.

"Well, Nita. I made that amulet for Kenai many years ago and coincidentally, the day you left, he was no longer wearing the said amulet. He told me lost it. Now, I realize, that he gave the amulet to you." I explained to her walking back to the village. Nita was following close behind and ahead, I saw a familiar friend running towards us. My best friend, Ahanu. He had black hair that nearly reached his shoulders and his dark brown eyes were full of curiosity when he reached us.

"I was about to come join you fishing, but I see that you are done. Who is this?" Ahanu questioned.

"This is Nita. She's an old friend of Kenai's. She needs to find him." I explained.

"Nita? Oh. I remember you. You and Kenai were inseparable." Ahanu said.

"Ahanu, is that really you? Wow. Tehya and you have grown so much. I'm glad to see that you guys are still good friends. Is Denahi here?" Nita said. Before I could answer, Ahanu said, "No, he went off with other members of the tribe on a hunt. They'll be back in a couple days time." I stopped near a tree and began to lift the basket into the tree with another rope. I securely tightened it and turned to Nita, "Well, Nita, you came in just the nick of time. That was the last of my chores."

"So, you'll help me?" Nita wondered.

"I'll help you, but we'll see what Kenai has to say about this. Guess you could say that I'm the easy part. You can tell me the rest of what's going on along the way. I've got a good idea of where they might be heading." I said. Crow berry Ridge. It had dozens of berry bushes and they attracted all kinds of bears there.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Ahanu questioned.

"Ahanu, thank-you, but Nita and I will be just fine. I know that part of the forest better than anyone here in the village. It will only take about a day's journey." I said. I know that he only meant well, but I was getting tired of all the smothering. They need to lay off just a bit. That's all I'm asking. Ahanu and nodded. We went back to the village and I gathered the supplies needed for the journey. When were about to set off, Ahanu came up to me and hugged me, "Stay safe."  
"I will. Goodbye, Ahanu." I said while hugging him back. Honestly, he was the greatest friend I could ever ask for. He's helped Denahi and I go through so much over the past eight months and I could never thank him enough. I let go of him and Nita and I walked out of the village to search for Kenai.


	20. Kenai

Nita and I walked on in silence. Our destination was not far from here and who knows, we might even see Kenai earlier than we expected. There have been so many times where I nearly got into trouble with a couple other bears because I mistook them for being people. Overall, it has technically been around nine months since Kenai has been a bear. The first month, Kenai and Koda visited the village fairly often, but when the second month rolled around, I hardly saw him. Honestly, I suspect that Kenai just lost track of time. Pairing Koda and Kenai together, those two kind find an adventure pretty much wherever they go.

"So, Tehya. What was it like for you when you were a bear? Was that part true?" Nita wondered.

"That part was true. Being a bear had Kenai and I take on a whole new perspective of the world. There's so much misunderstanding between the bears and the humans. It was a once in a lifetime experience. Towards the end, I was definitely ready to become human again. I do miss Kenai a lot though. More than he'd ever realize, but I am glad that he is happy and that Denahi and I are also doing well. So, it's all good in the end." I explained.

Over the past couple months, there were a couple times when I would wake up in the middle of the night with tears streaming down my face. The dreams that caused this were memories. Of Sitka, Denahi, Kenai, and I all together and happy. Then, I'd wake up and be faced with reality. That old life is gone and a new life has begun. There was only one person I told this too and it was Denahi. Denahi tells me that there is good to remember the past, but not to dwell on it because it could become dangerous. He tells me to focus on the little blessings that we have right here right now in the present and that's what I've been doing my best to do. Kenai and Koda are alive, healthy, and happy. Denahi and I are alive, healthy, and happy as well and I also have Ahanu. We've all had to adapt to our new environment, but each of us has another to lean on. We might not all be together at the moment, but we're with each other in our hearts.

"It must be hard." Nita said.

"There have been difficult moments, but, we're all where we're meant to be." I said.

"Are there ever days where you wish that Kenai was still human?" Nita wondered.

I stopped and crossed my arms. A tear trickled down my face. Nita noticed this and embraced me saying, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked that."

"It's okay. Of course, I would love it if Kenai became human again, but I could never ask that from him. Koda, the bear cub he's looking after, needs him and he's the sweetest little cub you'll ever meet." I said.

We continued on in silence for a while and I noticed Nita climb onto a log. Then, she pointed her spear towards the log. What was going on? Suddenly, a bear rose up behind Nita and roared. The bear knocked Nita to the ground a few feet away. The bear charged towards her, grabbed her by the shirt, and lifted her into the air.

"Nita!" I shouted. I ran over to her, then the bear suddenly dropped her and the bear said, "Nita?" He turned around and when he saw me his eyes widened, "Tehya?" It was Kenai! I smiled and was about to hug him, until Nita started hitting him with the spear and she yelled, "Run, Tehya!" Kenai grabbed the spear and gently lowered it to the ground and said, "Nita, it's me. Kenai."

"Kenai?" Nita questioned. Kenai nodded and Nita said, "Is it really you?"

"Yeah. It's really me." Kenai said.

"Wow! I heard you were a bear and Tehya kind of described what it was like. I just didn't realize that you look so much like a bear." Nita said.

"Yeah. Well, look at you. You've really changed. Wait a minute. You can talk! I mean, you can understand me?" Kenai questioned.

"Yeah. The spirits did it so that when I found you, I could talk to you." Nita explained. Okay. Nita forgot to mention that part to me and I was very surprised.

"Whoa. Wait a minute. You've been looking for me?" Kenai questioned.

"This is why." Nita said and she pulled the amulet from her bag. I sat there on the log mildly annoyed that I was being ignored, but kept silent as I recalled while it's been months for me, it's been years for her since she has seen my dearly beloved brother, Kenai.

"You've kept this? After all these years." Kenai said and he went deep into thought. I coughed alerting them to my presence. Kenai snapped out of his thoughts and said, "Oh right. Uh, Tehya..."

"You told me you lost that amulet. Do realize how mad I was at you for that? You could've just told me! Also, do you realize how long it's been since I've last seen you?" I asked raising my voice and then I screamed in rage, "EIGHT MONTHS!" Kenai looked frightened and he ought to be. He stuttered, "Well, I uh. K-Koda and I... s-sort o-of just lost track of time."

"Uh-huh. When you, Nita, and Koda get back from your trip, we're going to have a little chat." I threatened.

"Wait. What trip?" Kenai questioned. He turned to Nita for explanation.

"The great spirits told our shaman that this amulet bonds us as one." Nita said.

"Really?" Kenai questioned getting excited.

"So, now, you and I have to Okani Falls-" Kenai interrupted her by saying and said, "Together like when we were kids?" Then, Nita finished, "And burn it." To this Kenai said without registering what she was saying, "And burn it! Burn it? What?"

"It's no big deal. It's only a little trinket." Nita said.

"Excuse me?" I questioned now getting mad along with Kenai who said, "Little trinket..."

Nita seemed to realize her mistake and said, "Oh. What I mean is that we were silly kids. They won't let me get married until it's destroyed." I looked at Kenai and he looked at me and I could tell that we were on the same page in this argument. She seems to have forgotten that I was the one who made that amulet. Perhaps, I also should've explained to her why I made it for Kenai in the first place and the importance behind it.

"Let me think about this... Sorry. Can't help you." Kenai said.

"What?" Nita questioned surprised. She really should've chosen her words better.

"So, have fun burning the _silly little trinket _on your own." Kenai said.

"You don't understand. We have to burn it together. Otherwise it won't work-" Nita was interrupted by another voice who asked, "What won't work?" We turned to see Koda. I bounded towards him and scooped him up in a hug while exclaiming, "Koda! I've missed you so much!"

"I missed you too, Tehya, but I... can't breathe!" Koda gasped. My eyes widened and I let go. Koda sighed in relief.

"Uh. Nita, this is my brother, Koda. Koda, this is Nita. Nita, Koda. Koda, Nita." Kenai introduced. Then, Koda exclaimed, "So, you're Nita! Kenai was just dreaming about you." Nita and I laughed and Kenai tried to protest against it, but Koda said, "Was too! He was like: NITA, NITA!" Kenai covered his mouth. Ah, Koda. He never ceases to make me laugh.

"Well, it's been nice talking to you, but Koda and I have big plans to go to Crow berry Ridge. Tehya, you coming?" Kenai questioned. I nodded and walked next to them leaving Nita behind. Nita protested, "Wait! You're just going to walk away. You're not going to help me take care of this?"

"Nope." Kenai stated and I chuckled.

"You know, neither of us can get on with our lives until we burn this amulet." Nita tried to persuade.

"I'll take my chances." Kenai said not worried in the slightest.

"Okay. Fine. Fine. I guess I'll just wait for them to turn you back into a human and send you to find me." Nita said. I stopped at this and glanced at Kenai. Koda jumped off Kenai and said, "Would they do that?" Kenai tried to assure him that wouldn't happen and Nita wondered how he knew this. Koda said, "What if they did turn you back into a man? Then, we wouldn't be brothers anymore."

"No, Koda. That's not..." Kenai was at lost for words. He glared at Nita. I was shocked to say the least thinking about that possibility. Like I told Nita before, it was always a secret dream of mine. I just hope that she won't ever tell Kenai about that dream.

"Fine. Okay. We'll go to Okani Falls. But, right after that, guys, just the three of us, we'll race down to Crow berry Ridge." Kenai promised. Koda made him pinky swear. I crossed my arms and looked away slightly heartbroken. I shouldn't have even let myself even slightly hope for that dream to come true. I quickly recollected myself hoping that no one noticed it until I saw Nita glance over at me silently asking if I was alright. I nodded and kept telling myself in my head that Kenai will always be my brother no matter what and I did consider Koda as my little brother, but I know that he and Kenai have a much stronger bond.

I was broken from my thoughts as I heard Kenai and Koda chuckle. Nita walked over towards us and said, "Then, it's settled. Ready?"

"As I'll ever be." Kenai grumbled.

"Um. Okani Fall is this way." Nita said pointing in the opposite direction that Kenai was going. I chuckled knowing that Kenai was just as bad with directions as I was. I'm just thankful that I've spent a lot of time in these woods, so I know where I'm going for the most part, but there's still a lot left to explore in these woods that my village and I have yet to discover.

"I knew that. I knew that." Kenai said.

"No, he didn't." I said.

"Kenai has a lousy sense of direction." Koda finished. Kenai protested against this and Koda began telling stories about it. They were walking away, but stopped when they noticed that I wasn't following them. I guess that this is where we part ways for now. Kenai turned towards me and questioned, "Aren't you coming, Tehya?" I shook my head.

"I can't. I'm needed back at the village. I have about two days before Denahi gets back from his hunt with the other members of the tribe. I'm going to enjoy my free time while I can. Besides, I have a feeling that this trip is just for you, Nita, and Koda. I'll see you guys when you get back. But, don't think that you're still out of the woods yet, Kenai. We're still going to have that chat about visiting your family more often." I said. Kenai chuckled nervously. I waved goodbye and went back into the woods towards the village...

**A Month Later**

News was spreading like wild fire. Nita and Kenai were getting married. I was so excited for Kenai, but I wasn't expecting it at all. I had always assumed that their friendship was more like Ahanu's and I, but I couldn't have been more wrong.

Apparently, after I left them, Nita and Kenai had fallen in love with each other, but when they burned the amulet, Nita could no longer understand Kenai. Nita went to marry Atka, but Koda interrupted the wedding and Kenai went to save him. Atka and Kenai got into a huge fight, which nearly killed Kenai, but he survived. He did have the choice to become human again, but chose to still stay with Koda. Instead, Nita became a bear and they were now getting married tomorrow.

Denahi, Koda, and I were with Kenai and Denahi was teasing Kenai endlessly calling him lover boy, but, overall, I knew that he was happy for his little brother. I laughed along with them, but I secretly feared that this would cause Kenai to disappear and not visit us for even longer than the last time. Denahi excused himself and Koda decided to go see Nita. This left Kenai and I alone for the first time in 10 months. It was slightly awkward for a moment, but Kenai said, "Tehya, while Nita and I were traveling to Okani Falls, Nita accidentally let slip that you wished that turn back into a human. Is that true?"

My eyes widened in surprise, but I wasn't going to lie to him. I said, "Yes, it's true, but I know that Koda needs you and I could never ask you to do that." I explained to him everything that happened during the nine months of separation including the dreams. I was expecting to be reprimanded for this, but, instead, Kenai simply hugged me and I let loose tears that I didn't realize that were needed to be shown. I knew that they were not tears of sadness, but more so tears of shame. I was ashamed for the wish.

"Tehya, there are times when I wish to be human again as well. I sometimes have those dreams of the four of us being together too. There is nothing to be ashamed about. We both understand why it can't be, but I promise that I'll visit as often as I can. You were right. It was inexcusable that I stayed away so long from the village. I'm sorry." Kenai said.

"I'm sorry too. I should've also made more of effort to find you and Koda during those 9 months." I said wiping away my tears. I felt like a huge burden had been lifted from my shoulders. I felt happier that I had been in months.

"Never be afraid to talk to me about this stuff, okay?" Kenai questioned.

"Okay." I said.

"Pinky swear?" Kenai wondered with a grin on his face. This made me laugh and I stated, "Pinky swear."

The next day, I witnessed my brother get married to love of his life. All around, I noticed very familiar faces. I saw Tug, Rutt, and Tuke. They had all found someone and I was happy for them. I noticed that Kenai was struck with a pine cone and I looked in the trees to see raccoons. I chuckled.

I was no longer worried. I trusted that Kenai would visit more often and I would be able to see him, Koda, and Nita more often. I also promised myself that I would make more of an effort to visit them as well. This was a journey that was much needed. I am glad to have nearly everyone back in my life now. And, as an added bonus, I now have a new sister.

For the first time in ages, I truly felt at peace.


	21. Coming of Age

Tomorrow was the day. I was finally going to receive my totem. I felt a mixture of excitement and nausea. Was that a good sign? Probably not, but I didn't quite care at the moment. My best friend Ahanu was going to receive his totem along with mine and he seems much more nervous than I was. I couldn't wait for everyone to get here. Kenai and Nita were coming here with their 4 month cub, Aiyana, and Koda, who was now a fully grown bear, was coming with his mate Tayen. I couldn't believe that I am finally sixteen years old. So much has happened these past four years since Kenai and I turned into bears.

Denahi was still the same as ever, but I've noticed that he's been eyeing Tanana's granddaughter, Istas, who was the same age as him. Also, now that I'm turning sixteen, I will be preparing for marriage. Denahi and Kenai still can't wrap their heads around that part. I would love it if I could marry for love, but that may not be possible because marriage is needed to survive out here in these harsh conditions. Man cannot survive without women and women cannot survive without men. That's just the way of life around here and Denahi, Kenai, Sitka, and I were rare exceptions because the four of us had to learn much in order to survive. Usually, it is the father that decides who marries his daughter, but, since mine is gone, Denahi is the one who is in charge, but I know that he wants me to marry for love, but I still have a while before I need to sort that out.

"There she is! Excited about tomorrow, little sis?" Denahi questioned throwing his arm around me and messing up my bangs as he always did. I swiped his hand away and laughed saying, "Is it normal to feel nauseous?"

"That's just your nerves your nerves talking. You'll be fine. There are some people outside waiting to see you." Denahi said that last sentence in an almost sing-song voice. My eyes grew wide with excitement. They were finally here! I rushed outside leaving Denahi chuckling behind me. Outside of our home, I saw Kenai, Nita, Aiyana, Koda, and Tayen.

"Auntie Tey!" Aiyana exclaimed jumping up into my arms. Aiyana has been calling me that since she couldn't quite figure out how to pronounce my name when she was younger and the nickname just stuck.

"Aiyana, you've grown so much! I can't believe it!" I exclaimed then began tickling her stomach. Aiyana shrieked and said, "Put me down!" I put her down then hugged Nita and Kenai.

"I still can't believe that you're sixteen and receiving your totem. It only seems like yesterday that your were twelve and I was receiving my totem." Kenai said. I laughed and nudged him the shoulder. The only other person I wished was here was Sitka. If he were here, he'd probably give some big speech or tease me to no end about how I wasn't little anymore.

"This is going to be so much fun! What totem do you think you'll get? I wonder if it would have anything to do with a bear since you were turned into one. Kenai has been telling me about the different totems." Koda said and he kept rambling on an on about what totem I could possibly receive. I laughed and said, "I'm not sure. But, we'll find out tomorrow." I loved that while Koda is now fully grown bear, he still has the same bubbly personality that he had when Kenai and I first met him those many years ago.

"Alright, everyone! It is getting late and Tehya has a big day tomorrow. We should all get some rest." Denahi announced. All of went inside and we settled down. After a while, everyone drifted off to sleep, but I stayed awake because I couldn't stop thinking about what tomorrow would bring.

Soon, I gave up on trying to sleep and went outside for a walk trying to clear my head taking my spear with me just in case anything happens. The village was quiet and I looked up and the moon was shining bright and the stars were as dazzling as ever. I remember how Sitka would take me out sometimes just to look at the stars.

"Are you okay, Tehya?" A voice behind asked. I whipped around with my spear and discovered that I was pointing it at Ahanu.

I sighed in relief and lowered it saying, "I'm fine. I just couldn't sleep. What are you doing?"

"I couldn't sleep either and decided to take a walk as well. I can't believe that we're going to get our totems tomorrow." Ahanu said.

I smiled and said, "I can't believe it either. Whatever totem we receive is what we'll live our lives by."

"Do you want to go to the lake?" Ahanu questioned. I smiled and nodded. We headed towards the lake that my parents used to take my brothers and I and it's where Ahanu and I met many years ago. We didn't bother to grab a torch because the light from the moon was enough and we knew the way.

Once we got there, we curled up next to a tree and Ahanu wrapped his arms around me and curled into him just as we did when we were kids. He said, "Remember the time the two of got so lost that the tribe had to send a search party to come get us?"

I chuckled at the memory and said, "Yeah. Sitka, Denahi, and Kenai wouldn't let me out of their sights for weeks. Remember when Denahi pretended to be some viscous animal and jumped out of the woods to scare us?"

Ahanu laughed and stated, "I don't think that I've ever seen you so scared!"

I playfully nudged him and retorted, "Like you were much better."

Throughout the night, we shared stories of our childhood together because tomorrow, we would no longer be kids and we soon drifted off to sleep in each others arms.


	22. The Ceremony

When morning came, I could hear the chirping of the birds and I shifted and realized that I next to someone. I looked around and noticed that I had fallen asleep next to Ahanu who was sound asleep next to me. Denahi and Kenai are going to kill me! Actually, scratch that. They will kill Ahanu then me. I untangled myself from him and he mumbled, "Five more minutes."

"I'm sorry, but do you want to be murdered by my brothers?" I questioned.

That got him wide awake. He realized where he was and said, "Oh. We've got to get back or we're dead meat."

I nodded in agreement and said, "It's possible my brothers may still be asleep. Fortune may be in our favor." We quickly got back to the village and I went back towards my abode and went inside. It seemed as if I would get away with being out the whole night after all, then I heard a voice behind me, "So, where were you last, young lady?" I turned and sighed with relief when it was only Nita.

"I'm so sorry. I went on a walk last night and went to the lake. Ahanu came with me and we both fell asleep there." I whispered.

"Did anything occur that I should know about?" Nita questioned.

I gasped in horror as I realized what she was suggested and proclaimed, "Ew! No, of course not. Why on earth would you suggest such a thing."

"Too see your reaction. It was worth it. Kenai was right. You're still as innocent as ever." Nita said with a grin on her face. As I get to know Nita more and more, I realize why those two were best friends when they were kids. I glared at her, but didn't argue because I knew that she was right also I didn't want to wake up the others. Nita and I sat there chatting for a while and I was eager for Tanana to return from the mountain where the lights touch the earth. When she gets back, the ceremony will start.

In the meantime, Nita and I went to the river. We fished and caught enough. We skinned them and started to cook them over a fire. It was about another two hours before the others rose. It wasn't late in the morning when the others got up, Nita and I were just awake super early.

"How long have you two been up?" Kenai asked groggily rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"About three hours. Food is almost ready." Nita announced. That got Denahi excited. He's been teaching me a lot of how to skin animals and cook them properly. Let's say, Nita was a lot better at explaining this kind of stuff then Denahi. It is so good to finally have a girl in the family. Kenai chose well.

"This is fantastic! I'm so glad that you're here, Nita. It has been a pain in trying to teach this one on how to cook." Denahi proclaimed. I stomped on his toe and stated, "I wouldn't be horrible if you could give clearer directions, Denahi." Don't get me wrong. Denahi is a great at cooking just not good at explaining it.

"She has a point, Denahi." Kenai said.

"See! Kenai agrees with me." I said. Denahi was clearly offended by this and declared, "How could you side with her, Kenai? You've seen how she cooks with or without my brilliant direction." Everyone started laughing.

"Whatever, dog breath." I snapped back. This made the others laugh ever harder and Denahi glared at me. Suddenly, people started announcing that Tanana was back. We headed towards the ceremony. Don't worry. We carefully and properly tied up the fish this time.

Once we got there, the familiar music was playing and I placed myself next to Ahanu. He had a big grin on his face and I could see that all of his nerves have disappeared and I noticed that mine did as well.

As was tradition, Tanana started the bonfire and announced, " When each of us comes of age, the great spirits reveal to us a totem that helps guide us through our lives. Some of us use wisdom to guide us, some of us use love, and others use patience. Ahanu and Tehya, I have been to the mountain where the lights touch the earth and the great spirits have revealed to me your totems. To become a man and a woman, your actions must be guided by one thing. For Ahanu, your totem is compassion! And, for you, Tehya... your totem is... leadership!"

When she handed us our totems, I observed that mine was crafted into a cougar and Ahanu's was crafted into a deer. The deer of compassion and the cougar of leadership. While everyone cheered and the ceremony ended, I couldn't help but wonder what this meant for the two of us. One thing is for sure. This is a new chapter in our lives.


	23. New Beginnings

**A/N: Thank you all so much for reading this story. It's been so much fun to write and I can't believe that this is the final chapter. I would love it if you would mention in the comments below on what your favorite Tehya moment was. Thank you guys so much for even commenting on this story! I appreciate all of you! I hope you all have a great week!**

**_Two Years Later_**

I couldn't believe it. As I walked through the line of people that parted for, I saw Denahi and Kenai towards the end of it. I am finally going to place my hand next to my ancestors. Kenai and Denahi had bright smiles on their faces and behind me I knew that Koda, Nita, Aiyana, and Tayen. We have had two new additions join the family over the past two years. Istas and Denahi were now married and Nita and Kenai had another kid, a boy, who they named Hakan.

Kenai and Denahi grabbed my hand and dipped it into the paint. They placed my hand next to Sitka's mark. Tears welled in my eyes and embraced the both of them. I am now a woman. No longer a child, but I knew that my brothers will always consider me their baby sister. No matter what the others say.

I proved that I now understood what my totem meant when one of the members of the tribe had broken their leg. While the others panicked, I took charge of the situation guided the people on what to do because when you have three well, technically four brothers with Koda, who tend to be rather reckless at times. One needed to know on how to probably deal with a broken bone. Being a leader is not always about leading necessarily, it just means to know where you're needed in the moment.

After the ceremony, there was a celebration, then afterwards, Kenai, Denahi, and I went to the lake by ourselves. It had been many years since the three of us went to the lake. We sat next to a boulder and watched as the sun went down. Once the sun set, Denahi, Kenai, and I went up to the lake and Denahi said, "Well, Mom, Dad, Sitka, we're all grown up and two of us are married."

"Hopefully, it'll stay that way." Kenai muttered.

"Hey!" I exclaimed and punched Kenai.

"Let's just say that your future spouse will have to go through many trials before we finally say whether or not we approve of them or not." Denahi said.

"How many have tried to get your approval?" I questioned.

"Three. Two of them came up to me during the ceremony, but I turned them down because I want my baby sister to marry for love." Denahi said. I chuckled, but was surprised that three guys have already tried to ask for Denahi's permission to court me. Did I have anyone in mind? Well, yes. But, I hope to keep it a secret for a while longer.

"Is there anyone that we should keep an eye on?" Kenai questioned. I remained silent, but my cheeks turned bright red.

Denahi gasped, "She does! Spill it." I continued to remain silent. Then, Denahi announced, "If you don't tell us in five seconds, I will mess up your bangs."

"You wouldn't." I growled.

Denahi started to count down, "Five"

"Denahi..." I warned.

"Four..."

"We are adults, Denahi." I protested backing up. '

"Three.." Denahi said lifting up his hand. I began to run away from the two and Denahi shouted quickly, "Two. One! Kenai, let's get her!" I had a head start. I was about to flee into the woods, but Denahi popped out from them and I screamed falling to the ground. Kenai came up behind me and pinned me to the ground.

"Now, tell us, dear sister." Kenai said.

"Nope." I stated.

"The hard way it is." Denahi said and began to mess up not just my bangs but my hair as well and Kenai started to tickle me. Honestly, those two get on my nerves. After about a minute. I shouted, "Okay. Okay. I'll tell you." They stopped and Denahi said, "Well, we're waiting."

"Ahanu..." I mumbled.

"Excuse me... what was that?" Kenai questioned. I will get my revenge against these two. I stated in a more clear voice, "It's Ahanu."

"All those years ago, Sitka was right." Denahi said.

"I've only liked him more than a friend for about a year now. I didn't like him like that when I was twelve." I said.

"Sitka knew that, but he made a bet with us that you two would end up together." Denahi explained.

Of course, Sitka would predict that. I started to have feelings for Ahanu when the two of us found the waterfall with the cavern behind it that I found many years ago that Kenai and I got lost trying to search for it again. When Ahanu and I were exploring the cavern. We walked up to the entrance where the waterfall was. I put my hand in the cool water. Then, Ahanu came running up behind me and pushed me through the fall. We went screaming down into the lake below and I was thankful that the water was deep enough so that our lives didn't end that day. When we reemerged from the water, the two of us gasped for breath and Ahanu started laughing. That was the first time I really took notice of him and I realized just how handsome, loving, and compassionate he was. Of course, I knew that beforehand, but this was the first time that I had taken it in a different approach.

He was dressed in caribou hide and I knew that it would take forever for it to dry. He had a muscular build and his long black hair was mashed against his face due to it being wet and his dark brown eyes showed true joy. After a while with two of us just laughing, we got out of the water and I nearly slipped, but Ahanu caught me and I could feel my cheeks burning.

As the weeks went by from that day, I started to blush whenever Denahi announced that he was waiting outside for me. Ahanu was youngest out of two children. He had an older brother and his parents were friends with mine before they passed. His family had always looked out for Sitka, Denahi, Kenai, and I. On the rare occasion I did hang out with the other girls from the tribe, they would mention like how great of a hunter Ahanu was and how lucky the girl would be who captured his heart. I almost agreed with them, but stopped myself. What was I thinking? This was my best friend. I shouldn't be thinking this stuff.

"Hello. Earth to Tehya. You in there?" Kenai questioned waving his paw in front of my face.

I snapped out of my thoughts and asked, "What?"

"You spaced out for a couple moments. You must really like him." Denahi said.

"You could... say that." I said.

"Okay. If it was any other boy, I would hunt him down and the trials to see whether or not he is worthy of you would never end. Since this Ahanu and we've known him for years, we give our blessing. Don't we, Kenai." Denahi said turning to Kenai. Kenai nodded in approval. Then, Denahi continued, "Let's just see if he has the guts to even ask you. We will not tell him a word."

"Good because if you did tell him anything. You would be wise to sleep with one eye open." I threatened...

_**Three Weeks Later**_

"Tehya, Ahanu's here to see you!" Denahi called. I stopped sowing and walked over to the door and Ahanu stood there with and he looked nervous. Ever since I told Denahi and Kenai what happened, Denahi has been giving Ahanu more of a hard time. There are times when he would ask Ahanu what his intentions were and where we would be going. Today, he said, "Make sure you two are back by sun down!" I would've murdered him right there, but Istas saved him by playfully smacking and said, "Stop teasing the two. Honestly, I'm not sure who's worse. You or Kenai."

"Obviously, Kenai because guess who you're married too." Denahi retorted. I rolled my eyes and Ahanu and I took off before anything else could be said. Ahanu and I went to the halls and Ahanu said, "Honestly, your brother and Istas crack me up. It was honestly sad watching him attempt to flirt with her before we got them together."

The reason how Denahi and Istas got together was due to Ahanu shoving me, which caused me to fall backwards into Denahi when Istas was walking by. I had been noticing Denahi attempting to flirt with her for two weeks to no avail. This caused Denahi to nearly fall to the ground, but Istas quickly caught him. When Denahi looked up and saw who caught him, he spluttered words like an idiot and somehow managed to say thank you. After that, Denahi started talking to Istas non stop and Istas was enjoying his company. Next thing I knew was that the two were married.

"Yes, it was embarrassing and he would sometimes ask me to hang out with her to see if she likes him or not. That boy." I laughed shaking my head. Next thing I knew, we were at the fall with the cavern behind it. We have named this Kimi Falls. When we got there, Ahanu was tugging on a necklace that he was wearing, which I found strange because he has never worn one for before.

"What's that?" I questioned gesturing to the necklace. This seemed to get Ahanu very nervous. He said, "Well, it's a necklace that I made for you to show you how much I appreciate you." Ahanu took the necklace off and it was beaded necklace that was turquoise connected to that was a small circular wooden pendant and carved into it was an eagle. I threw my arms around Ahanu and said, "Thank-you, Ahanu. I love it."

Ahanu didn't hug me for long. Obviously, he wasn't finished, "The necklace wasn't just to show you how much I appreciate you. It was also to ask.. well... if you would court me." I stood there frozen with shock. I was not expecting this. Then, I answered, "Yes." Now, it was Ahanu's turned to be shocked.

He questioned, "Wait. You like me more than a friend? For how long?"

"For about a year. How long have you had feeling for me?" I questioned.

"Remember that before our totem ceremony?" Ahanu questioned.

"You've had feelings for me for that long? Wow. I am blind." I said.

"So am I." Ahanu said and we both started laughing. I said, "I guess we should head back and make the announcement." We started making our way back towards the village. When we reached it, I noticed that there were fresh bear prints leading towards my home and I turned to Ahanu and said, "They already know don't they."

"I told your brother earlier this week." Ahanu admitted.

"You mean that hunting trip Denahi went on for two days was him informing Kenai?" I questioned. Ahanu nodded. I noticed a rope near my home and I said, "Do you want to pull a prank on my brothers?"

"Why do you even ask me that anymore? I love messing your brothers. They have the best reactions." Ahanu stated. I chuckled and explained to him the plan. It was simple. We were just going to tie the rope from one end of entrance towards the other. We successfully did that without being noticed by the others inside. Now comes phase two. I dashed inside careful to not trip over the rope and exclaimed looking towards Denahi and Kenai in a panicked voice, "Kenai! Denahi! Come quick! Something happened." I ran back out and went towards the side. Kenai and Denahi ran out the door, tripped over the rope, and landed on top of each other.

Ahanu and I started laughing and everyone else came out to see what had just happened. I noticed that Ahanu's family was there too. Ahanu's mother shook her head with a smile and said, "Ah. You two are always getting into some sort of trouble."

"Why would you do this?" Kenai questioned his head.

"Revenge, dear brother. Sweet revenge for what happened at the lake three weeks ago." I said rubbing my hands together.

"Please at least tell us that you two are a couple." Denahi said.

"Yes, we are, dear brother." I stated wrapping my arm around Ahanu and he planted a kiss on my cheek. Then, everyone surrounded us and that night we celebrated Ahanu's and I's relationship...

**_Six Months Later_**

I was so nervous. Today, Ahanu and I were getting married. As soon as I had my dress and my hair was pinned back. Kenai and Denahi came through the door. They looked at me with pride and Denahi said, "Tehya, you look beautiful."

"I can't believe this day has come. Dad, Mom, and Sitka would so proud." Kenai said.

I hugged my brothers and said, "Thank-you."

"You ready?" Denahi questioned holding his arm out.

"Yes." I answered. I took his arm and walked alongside Kenai and Denahi. Music was playing and people were dancing. When they saw us they cleared a path. I looked around and I saw so many familiar faces. I saw Ahanu's family, Tanana, Rut, Tuke, Tug, Tayen, Aiyana, Istas, Hakan, and Koda. Then, I saw Ahanu who looked as handsome as ever. When we reached the alter, Kenai and Denahi let me go. Kenai went to my side and Denahi stood in the middle.

Denahi announced, "Great spirits. We come before you today to bond this man and this woman as one. We pray this pleases you." Denahi stood beside Kenai and I took Ahanu's hand with the biggest smile on my face and Ahanu was smiling as well. Then, we kissed and everyone cheered. I couldn't believe it. Ahanu and I were married.

I looked through the crowd and only wished my parents and Sitka were here. Then, something caught my eye.

In the distance, I noticed that there was an eagle watching over us.

**_The End_**


End file.
